Pride and Honor
by Stizzo
Summary: On a seemingly normal day at the Hinata, Keitaro is sent flying after one of his mishaps. He returns to the inn with a young boy that knows him very well...
1. The Beginning

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A/N: All right people, I'm new here so I'm going to need feedback if I'm going to do anything right. I don't own Love Hina and don't intend to. Also, I've only read some of the manga, about to episodes of the anime, and read about a million fanfics, so if my story is way off from the original story then I don't want any crap. Thank you for your time and enjoy.  
  
Oh and // mean thoughts.  
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Pride and Honor: Prologue - The Beginning  
  
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It was a rather peaceful day at the Hinata Inn. Keitaro was finishing up his tasks, and it appeared that all of the other inhabitants had retired to their respective rooms.  
  
Deciding this was a golden opportunity, the resident manager decided that he should gather his materials and clean the woman's section of the hot springs out back. No matter what time of day, it always seemed that the hot springs were occupied by one of the other tenants, which in turn prevented him from cleaning it as often as he should.  
  
Walking towards the hot springs, whistling to himself, Keitaro allowed himself to daydream a bit. Images of the few months he spent as kanrinin of the Hinata-sou flashing through his head. Naru punching him through walls. Motoko hitting him with her bizarre sword techniques. Suu attacking him with her mecha tamas. Having to clean up the mess after taking these painful trips through the ceiling. Shinobu crying. Mitsune scamming him out of his money. //Man,// he thought nearly chuckling to himself, //my life stinks.//  
  
Of course, his heart was in a split decision about all of this. More images passed through his head. Studying with Naru. Motoko showing him a sword technique on the roof. Suu playing with him. Shinobu smiling at him and blushing (As she normally did when near him). Mitsune sharing a drink with him. Yep, these were definitely the moments that kept him going. All of the girls had a good side.  
  
All of the images from earlier began to go sour. Naru deciding she had had enough of him and throwing him through the hole in her bedroom. Motoko insisting that they spar with each since they were both practicing on the roof. Suu whipping out another one of her mecha tamas while they were playing. The other residents misinterpreting Shinobu's blushing and mauling him. A hung over Keitaro realizing that Mitsune may be too good of a drinking partner. Keitaro merely shook his head and continued on. //That's the price I pay...// he thought. As it stood, the residents were his new family and he resolved to stick with them as long as he could.  
  
Opening the door to the hot spring, Keitaro found that were, in fact, not empty. Quite the contrary.  
  
To his surprise (and dread) he found that not only were the hot spring in use, it seemed that all five of the tenants were there. Keitaro turned away, trying to hide his nosebleed.  
  
The fact that they were no longer alone was not lost on the girls. "Keitaro! What the hell are you doing here!?"  
  
"I-I'm just cleaning! Honestly, I thought you all went back to your rooms!" Keitaro stammered, retreating from an irate Naru.  
  
"Well, we left! Didn't you see me? I walked right by you, baka!" She advanced on him slowly. "You must've been daydreaming again."  
  
"Um..."  
  
"Enough of this! Today you die, pervert! Rock Splitting Sword!" Motoko unleashed a devastating attack sending the young manager flying.  
  
Whilst traveling through the sky, the young kanrinrin considered staying wherever he landed as he blacked out.  
  
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"Hey, has anyone seen Keitaro-sempai?" A nervous Shinobu inquired during dinner. He had not returned as of yet, and it seemed that the boy would, in fact, not be coming back.  
  
"The baka? Oh, I'm sure he'll turn up," Naru replied in an off-hand manner. Though the fact that her study partner had gone AWOL was slightly bothering her as well.  
  
"Shall we go find him? He could be running away again," Motoko suggested.  
  
Everyone seemed to consider this a moment. "Nah..." came the unanimous reply. As they returned to their meals.  
  
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In Tokyo a black shadow leapt from rooftop to rooftop. He was wearing Ninja garb, with a sword stuck in belt and a variety of other weapons hidden away from view. He stopped and looked around.  
  
"Is he here...?" he said, smiling to himself under his mask. "No, he's close, but not in this area."  
  
Continuing on, even faster than before, the lone ninja continued his search.  
  
"I will find you, Urashima Keitaro!"  
  
Little did he know, that yet another ninja was shadowing his movements. From his vantage point he could hear the other ninja's declaration. He instantly recognized the voice behind the mask.  
  
"No... it can't be..." The other ninja said as he trailed him.  
  
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~~  
  
*Flashback*  
  
A small boy trains in a dojo. Keitaro watches with mild curiosity.  
  
*Flash*  
  
Keitaro spars with a small boy. He beats the smaller kid, but smiles and helps him up, showing him a new technique.  
  
*Flash*  
  
The boy, now a bit older faces off against Keitaro in his Ninja gi. They both bow to each other and then draw their swords...  
  
~~  
  
Keitaro snaps awake. He looks around and finds himself in a dumpster somewhere in the city. "Great," he groans as he pulls himself out. He dusts himself off and looks around. "The girls must be worried. This is the first time I've been unconscious for so long."  
  
Keitaro waited at the bus stop, trying hard to curb his boredom by doing some people watching. This having failed he resigned to fall asleep on the bench.   
  
//Man, I'm tired... huh?//  
  
He snapped awake as he felt a presence. Looking around, Keitaro could see nothing suspicious, but he remained alert nonetheless.  
  
Standing up, Keitaro made his way down the street. //Someone's out there, and there is no way I'm leading him back to the Hinata-sou!//  
  
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Aoyama Motoko searched the streets of Tokyo for any sign of their manager. It was about ten o'clock when Motoko decided to seek Keitaro out, fearing that his bad luck had landed him in yet another bad situation.  
  
//I can sense Urashima... but I sense two others following him as well.// Motoko thought disdainfully as she quickened her pace.  
  
Motoko had only recently mastered early detection of potential threats by sensing their fighting strengths. It was an odd feeling that grew stronger the nearer she was to powerful opponents, but what she sensed startled her.  
  
Urashima had shown incredible strength when she tried to sense him, bringing a slight amount of pain to her body with his powerful feedback. Somehow knowing that she had caught on, Keitaro shielded himself, but it was too late. After this, Motoko insisted that they train together.  
  
She could now feel his energy moving slowly towards her, but two others were following him. Both were incredibly strong as well.  
  
//What have you gotten yourself into now, Urashima?// She thought as she broke into a run.  
  
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Now walking down an abandoned road Keitaro stopped. //Well, now or never...// "Okay, you can come out, now."  
  
A shadow flipped came out of the darkness, standing right in front of the ronin. "Sharp as ever, I see." He bowed, "Good to see you again, Urashima-san."  
  
"Remove your mask, Koji-san, it makes for rather uncomfortable conversation." The man complied, and staring back at him was a Japanese man about his age. His eyes held an almost maniacal glint to them, but Keitaro was unimpressed. Koji was only about three months his senior, but his face seemed aged before its time.  
  
"So, you feel like gazing upon the face of your executioner. What a silly practice..." Koji smiled.  
  
"You aren't handling this like a ninja. Yoshiro-san would be disappointed," Keitaro said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Not when I hand him your head. You are unarmed and easy prey. I do not need to use any tricks to kill you." He said unsheathing his sword.  
  
"Tsk. What a fool... We're not alone, you know?" Keitaro gave an irritated sigh and continued when he saw Koji's mouth twitch slightly. "How pathetic. Your little brother is standing ten feet away, ready to put a poisoned dart into the back of your neck and you didn't even notice? I would've let him kill you, but I detest the thought of someone as young as him taking life." He shrugged, "Oh and a friend of mine from the Shiemei-ryu is approaching rapidly. She's quite tough, and I'm sure you don't want to meet her."  
  
Koji turned his head slightly to the right and spotted his younger sibling putting away his blowdart. He never took his eyes off Koji and he could see the hate burning in them. "You are next, after I kill him."  
  
"Very well," came the quiet reply.  
  
Koji smirked at this, "You are strong, little one. Why did you leave the clan?"  
  
There was no reply to this. The young one's eyes continued to burn behind his ninja gi.  
  
"Humph. There is no escape from the Auron clan." Koji produced a smoke bomb and promptly detonated it. Somewhere from within the smoke Keitaro could hear Koji say, "The 'Dark Fire' will consume you both!"  
  
Motoko came running into the scene then with her hand on her sword, eyes searching for threat. Seeing that he had vanished, she relaxed a bit.  
  
Keitaro smiled, happy to see her. "Motoko-chan! How nice of you to come."  
  
Keitaro gulped as the sword came up to his throat. "Urashima!" Motoko growled in frustration. "Where have you been!?"  
  
"Well, unconscious for the most part..." He said, scratching the back of his head. "Is everyone worried?"  
  
"Yes. Come, we mustn't keep them waiting," Motoko began walking back towards the train station, but halted as Keitaro grabbed her arm.  
  
"Gomen nasai, Motoko-chan, but give me a moment. Bandit," The boy in the shadows tensed at the sound of his nickname. "You can come out now."  
  
Slowly, the small shadow made his way out into the open. He was looking down at the moment, possibly shy. This was the first time they had seen each other in nearly two years. Keitaro placed a hand on the child's shoulder, reassuringly. "Come on, little Bandit, remove your mask so I can introduce you to my friend."  
  
Reluctantly the boy complied, revealing a rather young face. His brown eyes glanced around warily. A black bandana keeping his spiky, black hair in order so it fit under his mask. //That's right, he's turning 14 in December...// Keitaro thought with a pang of sadness. //So young, but nowhere to call home...//  
  
"Urashima, who is this?" Motoko asked. The boy bowed to her politely, but didn't say anything.  
  
Ignoring her, Keitaro addressed the kid directly. "Do you have all of your stuff?" He nodded and showed Keitaro the backpack he was wearing. "Good. Come with me," he said, heading off. The kid leapt after him, sticking to the shadows. He was unwilling to walk out in the open.  
  
"What in the blazes!? Are you bringing this ninja back to the dorm?" She spat out the word ninja like it was a dirty word. //Not a surprise,// Keitaro thought to himself. //Samurai hate ninja, and I guess Motoko-chan would be no exception.//  
  
"Relax, I know him," Keitaro replied, sill walking away.  
  
//When did he become so decisive? I'll set him straight later...// Motoko thought angrily as she followed Keitaro.  
  
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"Why didn't you let me kill him?" The question came by on the wind. Keitaro almost missed hearing it, but he replied anyway.  
  
"Like I said, I detest the thought of one so young taking life. You shouldn't be dealing with things like this at your age," Keitaro shrugged.  
  
The boy narrowed his eyes, //But I am. Wishing that things were different changes nothing. If I could've killed Koji there, then one of my most powerful enemies would be gone.//  
  
//....//  
  
//Why am I here?//  
  
//Is this what you wanted, Okaasan?//  
  
~~  
*Flashback*  
  
"Okaasan! I'm coming, okaasan, hold on!"  
  
"Bandit... It's good to see you..."  
  
~~  
  
"We're here!" Keitaro said, coming up the steps of the Hinata-sou. Glancing back nervously he noticed that his two companions didn't share his enthusiasm. Both, in fact, seemed lost in thought.  
  
~~  
  
"Go Bandit..."  
  
"But, what about you? I can't leave you here, okaasan!"  
  
"You must..."  
  
"Why, okaasan? Why does everyone hate us? We didn't do anything bad..."  
  
"Do not worry Bandit. You just don't belong here..."  
~~  
  
Now inside, the boy could see an odd group of young girls sitting around the house. It was late, but everyone seemed restless.  
  
Standing up from her seat, Naru stood up and faced Keitaro sternly. "Where have you been?" She asked, crossing her arms. "We thought you had landed in the sea or something."  
  
"I had some trouble when I was making my way back. Sorry, Naru-chan," Keitaro said. This earned him a slap in the face.  
  
"You've got a lot of nerve coming in here past midnight with nothing but 'Sorry, Naru-chan'! Who gave you permission to call me that anyway!? You had me... uh... Shinobu-chan worried!" During her rant she noticed the boy leaning against the wall near the door. "Huh? Who's this?"  
  
Pushing himself away from the wall slowly, the boy made his way towards the center of the room.  
  
~~  
"Bandit... go with Kei-kun..."  
  
"But I belong here, helping you! I can't leave... I'm an Auron clan Ninja!"  
  
"To me you were never a warrior, never a ninja, and never a weapon... To me, you were my son... My pride and joy..."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Listen to me. You don't belong here, living your life in the shadows. You are destined for great things, my son. Your place is not here with the Auron Ninja. It is not here with your dying mother..."  
  
"Okaasan!"  
  
"Find your place in this world, Bandit. You can not find it if you stay here..."  
  
~~  
"My name is Urashima Sora," he said quietly.  
  
Everybody froze at the name. //Urashima...// Naru thought. "So you're his brother?"  
  
Sora shook his head.  
  
~~  
"Be strong, Sora..."  
  
"Okaasan?"  
  
"..."  
  
"...Okaasan...?"  
  
"..."  
  
"OKAASAN!!!"  
  
...  
  
"But... where do I belong?"  
  
~~  
  
Sora walked further into the room until he was sure everyone could hear him clearly. Then he spoke quietly. "I am not Urashima Keitaro's brother."  
  
"Then why do you have his family name?" A curious Shinobu piped up.  
  
"Because," Keitaro broke in, "He's my son."  
  
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A/N: Well, that's done. Now All I have to do is post this and see the reaction I get. Frankly, I'm have no clue how this will be received, so I need people to review it. Well, bye for now! -Stizzo 


	2. Reunion

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A/N: Well, well, well... I got a pretty cool surprise tonight when I checked my story and found that there were two reviews. Thank you very much Leutan of the Drake and Dave S. Hell, Leutan was even suffering from sleep depravation and still decided to leave me a review. Anyway it was a real lift in my day, so thanks to both of you. Now, on to business. I don't own Love Hina and don't intend to. Furthermore I'm making no money off of this and am only doing this for fun.  
  
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Pride and Honor: Chapter 01 - Reunion  
  
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Summary:  
  
The Hinata-sou has seen many a weird moments. It used to always be rather calm and peaceful, almost boring in a sense. That is until the day Urashima Keitaro showed up looking for his grandmother. Not knowing that granny Hina no longer was there and that the inn he remembered from his childhood was now an all-girls dorm, Keitaro suffered pretty harsh punishments.  
  
After awhile it was discovered that Keitaro was, in fact related to Hina, and he was the new manager. Being a young male, the girls in the dorm resisted bitterly. General wackiness ensued, but eventually the situation calmed back down.  
  
So why, exactly, were all of the tenants watching their manager with their mouths agape?  
  
Well, it seems that a visitor had appeared in the night.  
He was about thirteen years old, a little small for his age, wearing a ninja gi, with his mask off, and wearing a black bandana on his head.  
But more importantly he's Keitaro's son.  
  
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A silence fell over the inn as the girls looked from Keitaro to Sora with bulging eyes. Sora shifted uncomfortably under their gazes, edging closer to Keitaro.  
  
"Otousan...." he whispered. "I wasn't finished...."  
  
"You explain it then!" Keitaro whispered back sharply.  
  
Finally a reaction came. Though it wasn't what Keitaro had expected.  
  
Mitsune laughed and patted Keitaro on the back. "Way to go, Kei-kun, I knew you had it in you!"  
  
"Okay, pervert, how old was the poor girl you impregnated and why did you abandon her!?" Naru yelled, fists balled and ready for action.  
  
"You got a young girl pregnant and didn't even have the courage to support her!? This is unforgivable, Urashima!" Motoko said in a rage.  
  
"Ooh... pregnant... is it edible?" Suu cooed.  
  
"N-no..." A blushing Shinobu replied.  
  
Keitaro began backing away from the advancing ladies, hands up in a futile attempt to shield himself. "W-Wait! I can explain! That isn't it at all!"  
  
"Enough of your lies! This cannot be forgiven! Rock Splitting Sword!!" Motoko brought her blade down towards a cowering Keitaro, but it was stopped cold as Sora jumped in and deflected it with his own blade. They stood there locked for a moment, staring each other in the eye.  
  
Still looking up at Motoko, Sora spoke quietly. "Put it away."  
  
Motoko growled, but complied. "Dirty ninja..."  
  
Looking back at Keitaro, Sora addressed him. "You didn't have to scare them, otousan." Turning back to the girls he sheathed his blade and bowed to them. "Gomen nasai, otousan wasn't thinking clearly. Urashima Keitaro is my STEP-father. He married my mother when he was fifteen."  
  
"What? How old was your mother?" Naru asked, unclenching her fists.  
  
Already tired of speaking, Sora allowed Keitaro to answer for him. "About twenty-seven. Why?"  
  
Naru rolled her eyes. //Perverts...// she thought distastefully, //the world is FILLED with perverts...//  
  
"Well... um... sempai...?" Shinobu sputtered, still blushing. "You didn't f-fall i-in l-love with her, did you?"  
  
"Oh, well I definitely loved Sora's mother, but not in the way you're probably thinking." Keitaro shrugged, "She was my teacher. When she was near death she married me so I could be the legal guardian of Sora."  
  
"Why? Didn't he have any other living relatives?" Mitsune asked, now listening with interest.  
  
Keitaro rubbed the back of his head. "Well-"  
  
"It complicated," Sora broke in quietly.  
  
Keitaro shrugged again, "Well, there you have it..."  
  
"Wait a minute! This explains nothing!" Motoko shouted drawing her sword from her sheath a pointing it at Sora, stopping a scant millimeter away from his face. He didn't flinch. "I demand you tell me what forced such a drastic move from your mother! And I also want to know your status as a ninja."  
  
"Why my mother married otousan is none of your business," Sora said, once again looking Motoko in the eye. "As for my status, I'm merely a wanderer. I no longer belong to any clan."  
  
"Liar... all of you ninja are nothing but dirty, rotten, lying, MURDERING, scum!" Motoko practically screeched. Now shaking with anger Motoko's sword wavered in her hand. Sora could see the pain in her eyes. Everyone watched, shocked once again that night. Motoko usually had a very good reign over her emotions, but they seemed to be running wild right now. Sora, however, was only focused on the pain in her eyes. //I see now...// he thought.  
  
Getting onto his knees, Sora pulled his sword from his belt and set it on the floor in front of him. He then bowed low to the ground, his nose touching the dirt. "I was with the Auron clan of the ninja."  
  
"You..." She said, pulling the sword back as if preparing to strike. "You ARE a ninja of the 'Dark Fire'! You must have been involved with..." Motoko cut off sharply. A wide set of emotion passed through her face ranging from anger to sadness and back again. Sora did not take his eyes off the floor.  
  
"I was not. It was a joint attack between a select few of our clansmen and the Kato ninja. I did not go with them." Sora replied evenly, still not rising.  
  
"Fine, then you will die in behalf of your clan," Motoko spat as she raised her sword. "Rise and pick up your sword. I refuse to kill someone while they are in that position."  
  
Keitaro finally snapped out of his trance at the word "kill". The other girls gasped at the realization that Motoko was actually going to murder the boy right in front of them. "Motoko-chan, please don't--"  
  
"Stand back, otousan," Sora said rising from the floor and dusting himself off. He then picked up his sword and unsheathed it, but never moved into a stance. He merely held the blade loosely at his side, awaiting the end.  
  
Seeing that her opponent had no intention of fighting irritated Motoko even more. "Well, are you going to get ready or not?" She growled at him. Her eyes narrowed as he merely stared at her emotionlessly. "Fine then, prepare to die!"   
  
Time seemed to slow down as Motoko charged at the small boy. To everyone else, it appeared as is Motoko merely passed by the kid. When she finally sheathed her sword, however, a large gash opened up on Sora's left cheek. Blood exploded from the wound, but Sora barely reacted.  
  
Time stood still for a moment as Sora turned his head slightly to look at Motoko. She answered his unasked question. "I couldn't possibly kill in front of such young girls," Motoko said nodding to Shinobu and Suu. "Well, I'm tired now. Good night," She called over her shoulder.  
  
Shaken from the encounter, Shinobu raced up to her room. Suu took a glance at the boy and followed her two friends. Naru shrugged and left the room, Mitsune following with a whispered, "Good night."  
  
"Come on," Keitaro said to Sora. "Let's get that cut cleaned."  
  
Sora nodded and followed his father into the kitchen. "Cheerful folk."  
  
Keitaro shrugged. "What can I say? I don't understand girls..."  
  
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*Morning*  
  
Sora woke from his spot in the corner of Keitaro's room. He slept sitting up, with his sword in hand, as he been for the last two years, always wary of an attempt on his life. //I should be safe from the 'Dark Fire' here with otousan, and that swordswoman...// He sighed. //Old habits die hard, I guess.//  
  
Sora, however, was very much on edge. His clansmen were around somewhere, looking for his head. //These people could be in danger.// he thought as he looked around.  
  
~~  
  
"So, I take it you're not returning?"  
  
"No. I will return one day, Yoshiro-san. For your head."  
  
"A bold challenge, little Bandit. I look foreword to that day..."  
  
~~  
  
//Why did I have to be so stupid that day? I can't possibly win against Yoshiro... // Sora shook his head. He pulled his sword slightly from his sheath. //Time to finish what I started. I must continue my training and put out the 'Dark Fire' for good.//  
  
Stretching, he looked at the clock. //4:30 a.m.// he picked up his bokken and left. //Time for business.//  
  
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On the flat roof, Motoko went through her kata in an attempt to clear her mind. //Step. Thrust. Spin. Parry. Counter...// she mentally went through the commands, even though her body executed them as if they were second nature.  
  
As she finished, she heard a soft voice say, "Very impressive." Turning around, Motoko saw the last person in the world she wanted to at the moment. He was sitting casually on the roof a few feet away.  
  
"How long have you been here, vermin?" She asked, slightly embarrassed that he had snuck up on her so easily.  
  
"About half an hour," he replied.  
  
"Well leave. And do not ever come up here again while I'm practicing." Motoko turned away and started a different kata.  
  
Sora merely stood from his place and made his way towards the angry samurai. He waited a moment, watching her graceful arcs quietly. //Such precision... There's no way that miss last night was an accident.// "You've never killed anyone before, have you?"  
  
Motoko stopped in mid-swing and turned her head so she could see the ninja. "Not everyone is as low as you ninja. I respect people's right to live."  
  
//Even me?// Sora thought, puzzled.  
  
"Yes, demon, even you," Motoko said noticing his confused look. Angrily, she restarted her kata. "You probably don't understand. So what is your situation, manslayer? How many have you slain for your clan?"  
  
"Many," Sora replied in a monotone. He imagine the jolt of impact when blade met flesh. Images of people going lifeless as a poison dart hit its mark. He heard the screams of shocked onlookers. The distressed cries of loved ones as they rushed to aid the victim. It was always too late though. Sora never missed his mark. //I'm not sure what haunts me more. The fact that I'm having these visions or the fact that they no longer bother me.//  
  
"Ah," Motoko said noting his distracted look. She resumed her kata, losing herself in her motion. Midway through, she was mildly surprised to see Sora mimicking her every move. //Forget him...// she thought as she continued. She couldn't help but glance over from time to time to see if the boy was keeping up.   
  
Side by side they continued in near-perfect synch. //He's pretty good...// Motoko admitted to herself. //Why am I practicing with this demon? I thought I told him to leave.// Looking over at the boy however, she could see his inner turmoil. //Of course... For me, I am merely practicing to become stronger. He is training out of necessity. He must keep sharp in order to remain a manslayer.// She altered her kata slightly, adding a jumping slash to her spin. Sora followed it perfectly, moving right with her. //Unbelievable... He can predict my every motion even though I am a stranger to him.//  
  
Motoko continued, her movements becoming faster and more complex. This is when she began to note minor errors in his technique. //Demon... So even you make mistakes...// Motoko shook her head slightly, clearing it. //I mustn't think about this vermin anymore! I can ill-afford to waste time on the likes of him... He is a 'Ninja of the Dark Fire'. A demon. So why did Urashima allow him to stay here?// Looking over at Sora again, Motoko couldn't completely justify what she was saying. //He looks broken... his emotion burned out of him... Is this why Urashima decided to take him? Can he be helped...?//  
  
After awhile, Motoko's irritation got the better of her and she stopped suddenly. Sora who had been following her lead was not prepared to stop in mid-swing and fell on his face. Embarrassed the young ninja rose and dusted himself off. He looked back up at Motoko, waiting. Motoko put a hand on her hip, "Do you always annoy people like this?"  
  
Sora merely nodded.  
  
Motoko let out an irritated sigh. "I thought as much. Well, if you're going to remain up here you might as well train."  
  
Sora got to his knees and bowed low. "Arigato..." He said.  
  
Motoko grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. "There will be no more of that. Also, remember that you are still ninja and I still do not like you. Wakarimasu, ka?"  
  
"Wakarimasu," Sora replied.  
  
"Good." //Well, Urashima, you can no longer say I have never done anything for you. I hope you are right about this kid...//  
  
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Keitaro woke to the sounds of two people fighting. Fearing the worst, the young manager quickly stuck his head outside his window to call out to the fighters, but stopped when he noticed that the sounds were wooden sword on wooden sword.  
  
Sighing, Keitaro went for the bathroom to brush his teeth. He had a pretty good amount of work to do today to make up for the work he missed yesterday. //I have to clean the hot springs as well...// He shuddered. //Maybe I can pay Kitsune-san to do it.//  
  
When he reentered his room, Keitaro was about to begin dressing, when he heard a knock on the hatch that separated his room from Naru's. "Yes?" he called out.  
  
The hatched opened and Naru poked hear head through. "We need to talk."  
  
"Right. Come on down," Keitaro replied. Naru landed in front of him. "Is there something you need?"  
  
"Information about your son. I also need to know a few things about you as well." Naru stepped a bit closer to him with a rather skeptical look on her face. Keitaro slunk back slightly but didn't make a sound. Naru tapped her foot impatiently. "Well?"  
  
Keitaro looked at the floor. //She wouldn't understand...// "I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you anything without Bandit's permission," Keitaro said quietly.  
  
"And why not?" Naru sniffed.  
  
"Because it is personal. I have never inquired about your past. In fact, I know very little about you. So shouldn't we be allowed to hold our own secrets?" Keitaro asked, still staring at the ground.  
  
"Not when it could put us all in danger. My past doesn't affect anyone else," Naru replied.  
  
"Well is your past so painful that the very thought of it makes you want to die?" Keitaro said darkly. Naru gasped slightly as he looked up. A scowl twisted his features, his eyes narrowed dangerously. Naru had never seen him like this. "I saw my son for the first time in two years, but was there any joy? No. Do you wonder why? Because my son can no longer see the present. Before his eyes play images of all the terrible things he was forced to witness. The unspeakable horrors of what he was forced to do. And the images of loving parents who were both brutally murdered right in front of his eyes. Do you want more information?" Keitaro asked in a cold voice.   
  
Naru shook her head, but he continued anyway, determined to show her the full picture. "Afterwards he is forced to come to my home and try to live a normal life, but it was too late. The hole in his heart is too deep, and there isn't a damn thing anyone can do to fill it!" Keitaro pounded on his dresser in frustration. He took a moment to control his breathing, then pressed on quietly. "Do you have any idea how painful it is to watch your son give up on life? To wander around each day like a ghost, until the day he vanishes into thin air?"  
  
Naru, who was stunned into silence, moved over to Keitaro and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I had no idea..."  
  
Keitaro wasn't listening to her though. He was too busy listening to Motoko and Sora on the roof sparring. //How many times have you done that dance of death for real, Bandit?// Keitaro thought as he fought back tears. //And how many more times will you have to until you can finally rest?//  
  
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A/N: So what is Keitaro's affiliation with the ninja? How will the rest of the girls react to Sora? What is the 'Dark Fire' exactly? What the hell happened all those years ago? What forced Sora's mother into such a desperate situation with Keitaro? Why were his parents murdered? Why the hell am I even writing this part? You people won't read it...  
  
But anyway, onto some of that other junk I need to put in this section. I'm actually pretty surprised with the amount of good reviews I've received so far. I just hope I didn't completely ruin it with this chapter. Anyway, look for the answers to those questions above (and a few more I forgot to mention) in later chapters. Oh and thank you to Nakahito and Foolishwisemonk for posting reviews along with the people I mentioned above.  
  
On a more personal note, my cousin also has posted his first fic on this site. His name is Ee-Zee and he wrote a Breath of Fire fic named "Dragonsworn." If you like the Breath of Fire series I'd encourage you to read it, since the story is quite good (though I've already read the first four chapters since he saved most of his work onto my computer and not his for some reason).  
  
Well, I've ranted enough, please review and thank you for your time. -Stizzo 


	3. The Cook and the Inventor

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A/N: Sorry about the last chapter. My computer didn't seem to want to work and my unreliable Internet connection cut off while I was adding the chapter. The results were rather odd, but I think I got it working now. Thank you again Foolishwisemonk and Leutan of the Drake (sorry about your D & D book...) for being the first ones to take the plunge on this chapter. On another note, I do not own Love Hina. Since this is a fan fiction site, that should be quite obvious, but I'd rather not take any chances.  
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Pride and Honor: Chapter 02 - The Cook and The Inventor  
  
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Summary:  
  
Urashima Sora's first night at the Hinata-sou nearly came down to a fight with Aoyama Motoko. Eventually the air is cleared between them and a shaky truce is declared, but why exactly is Motoko so angry with the ninja?  
  
Urashima Keitaro is having problems of his own. Trying to deal with the grief of seeing Sora's dead eyes, and memories of a past life that he would rather forget is shaking his already unstable existence. It seems that the arrival of Sora is forcing a few of the residents to face their past head-on. But is that actually a good thing?  
  
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Keitaro sighed and looked up from his book. On the roof, he could hear the sounds of Sora still training. The boy was alone now, since Motoko had left for school a few hours ago, along with Shinobu and Suu. Mitsune was out job-hunting and Naru had left to buy a new book.   
  
Listening to Sora practice, he could just tell that he was making mistakes. Heavy footfalls on the roof that indicated loss of balance and sloppy footwork. Too little energy being put into the young boy's attacks. //This is ridiculous, Bandit...// he thought to himself. //I've had enough time to finish all of my chores AND study for two hours, and you still haven't moved onto hand-to-hand practice?//  
  
Shaking his head, Keitaro tried to ignore it. //I'm no longer a fighter... I have nothing to teach him...// Keitaro sighed and tried to resume studying, but his heart wasn't into it. //He's doing this on purpose... his kata was perfect just an hour ago...// Thinking about his life these past two years, he could see how futile it all was. Making an adjustment to focus more on his studies and less on his training was largely unsuccessful. He just couldn't forget his childhood. Training with in the dojo, living with the other students... They were his family, the people of the dojo. He just couldn't help but think about them, and his old life. //I was good at it... but I'm no longer a warrior. I must get into Toudai as I promised all those years ago...// Keitaro stubbornly tried to refocus on his studies, but the sounds of Sora practicing on the roof beckoned him. //Curse you, Bandit... I had just forgotten about that life...//  
  
Keitaro couldn't help it any longer and closed his book. //That's it, I'm coming up.// he thought as he fished out his workout clothes.  
  
When Keitaro reached the flat roof Sora immediately stopped and bowed. "Good morning, otousan."  
  
"Good AFTERNOON, Bandit," Keitaro said smirking slightly.  
  
Sora looked around, thunderstruck. Sure enough the sun was high in the sky. Sora rubbed the back of his head. "Oops... I didn't notice what time it was."  
  
Keitaro nodded, and crossed his arms. Taking the hint, Sora resumed his kata. Under the watchful eye of his father, Sora took great care in his motions, and executed it almost flawlessly. Keitaro nodded in approval. "Very good, slacker." Sora frowned slightly as he heard this. "Yeah, I was paying pretty close attention earlier." Sora's eyes widened, then he looked away. He felt like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Keitaro came a bit closer to him. "So, you won't work hard unless, I'm here to push you huh?"  
  
Sora shook his head. "No, that's not it--"  
  
"Then why were you being so sloppy earlier. You planning on being that sloppy in a fight?" Keitaro asked.  
  
"No sir," came the immediate reply.  
  
Keitaro smiled. "I don't trust you," he said. "So I'm going to work you hard today." Sora tried hard to swallow his surprised yelp. Keitaro was a rather unforgiving master, and when said hard, he meant hard. Sora remembered the last time he had a hard workout. It involved running, sparring, more running, katas, more running, upside-down push-ups with weights attached to his ankles, more running... And it continued for a full week, with only two hours a day set aside for eating and sleeping. Sora shuddered at the memory, hoping that his father's duties as manager and studying kept him preoccupied. "Let's start off with a run..."  
  
Sora groaned. //No such luck...//  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Narusegawa Naru was greeted with a unfamiliar sight when she returned to the Hinata-sou. Keitaro and Sora were both on the flat roof, sparring hand-to-hand. The action was a bit too fast for her to follow, but Keitaro seemed to be winning. Naru watched with a mixture of respect and fear. //Keitaro... who are you?// she wondered.  
  
Thinking back over the past few months, all she could see was a clumsy, perverted, but loving, idiot. Now on the roof, she could only see a cold, ruthless warrior as he pushed his son to the brink. His concentration was complete. No sign of the clumsiness that plagued him normally. None of his usual warmth was in his eyes. It was unnerving to say the least.  
  
"Good," she heard Keitaro say as he helped Sora to his feet. "It's amazing how much stronger you've become in these past two years."  
  
Smiling, Sora replied, "No, otousan. You've just become weaker. You haven't been outside much these past two years, have you?"  
  
"Not really," Keitaro said, scratching the back of his head. "Maybe it's a combination of the two." He shrugged. "Looks like I'M the slacker, huh?" He spotted Naru watching them and he waved. "Hey, Naru-chan!" He leapt off the roof and landed right next to her. "You find what you were looking for?"  
  
Hitting Keitaro over the head with her bag Naru sniffed. "You've gotten quite bold, haven't you? Who gave you permission to call me 'Naru-chan'?"  
  
"Ow... I'm sorry, Narusegawa. I do not mean to offend," Keitaro replied, nursing the sore spot on his head.  
  
Naru rolled her eyes. //The martial arts master suddenly can't handle a small bump on the head...// "So, are you boys having fun?" she said mockingly. "I wouldn't want to interfere with your game with something as trivial as STUDYING."  
  
Sora groaned inaudibly from his spot on the roof. //Oh yeah. Tons of fun.//  
  
"Sorta. I really was just waiting for you to return so you could help me with a problem if it isn't to much trouble..."  
  
"Baka. Okay, I'll help, but you owe me for this," Naru sighed. //Well, not like I wouldn't enjoy a little company anyway.//  
  
"Thank you, Narusegawa!" Keitaro said. Naru hit him again with her bag. "Ow! What was that for!?" He asked, rubbing his head.  
  
"Don't call me 'Narusegawa'. I hate that." She said sternly.  
  
"Then what do I call you?" Keitaro asked, puzzled.  
  
"Why, 'Naru-chan' of course," She said wagging a finger at him playfully. "I just wanted you to ask for my permission first." Keitaro sweatdropped. //It's fun messing with his head...//  
  
Turning back to the roof Keitaro called out, "I know you're laughing up there, Sora! You'd better continue your workout while Naru-chan and I are studying or I'm coming up!"  
  
"Hai," came the quiet reply. The boy's good mood from earlier seemed to have worn off.  
  
"And do it RIGHT, please. I don't think you want to have to go through another one of my 'specials'!" Keitaro said as he was going inside. Sora had already resumed his kata determined not to set his father off.  
  
"I hope you don't plan on entering my room without taking a shower first, baka," Naru said as she sniffed the air.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Sora stood on the roof, still working his hand-to-hand katas. //Sheesh, otousan! You're crazy... You work me half to death today, and now you want me to continue? Oh well... I need to be in top shape anyway.//  
  
Midway through, he spotted three girls approaching the inn wearing school uniforms. //Oh, they've returned.//  
  
Bowing, Sora greeted the girls, though he only knew Motoko's name. "Good afternoon, ladies."  
  
"Good afternoon, demon. You seem to be working quite hard," Motoko replied. "Have you taken a break?"  
  
"Not yet," he replied, resuming his kata.  
  
Motoko watched from the floor, noting his deep fatigue. "I see you've skipped both breakfast and lunch. Don't you think you should stop to eat?"  
  
"Is that concern I'm hearing, Aoyama-san?" Sora asked as he grunted through his workout.  
  
"I'm only curious. Suspicious even," Motoko replied evenly. "Will you be eating lunch with us?"  
  
Sora continued his kata. "No," replied in mid-swing.  
  
"Suit yourself," Motoko said dismissively. She strode up the stairs, Suu following at her heels.  
  
Shinobu walked part way up they stairs, but stopped to call up to the fighter. "I could make you some food later if you want..."  
  
"Don't worry," Sora replied. Blocking out the world around him.  
=======================================================================  
  
*Later*  
  
Coming out the shower, refreshed, Urashima Sora strode to his room wearing a towel. Keitaro had issued him a room so he didn't have to share with him. Opening the door, Sora quickly put on a pair of black pants with a black sleeveless shirt. After pulling on some black fingerless gloves, Sora grabbed his black bandana and went for the door.  
  
As he walked down the hall, he tied his bandana on to his head and yawned. To his mild surprise, he found that his empty stomach led him to the kitchen. //Well, I haven't eaten in a while and something smells good...// Opening the door, he could see the youngest resident of the Hinata-sou at stove, humming softly to herself.  
  
Intent on making himself a sandwich, Sora went straight for the fridge. He elected not to disturb the young girl, and made sure to move extra quietly.  
  
Looking away from the stove, Shinobu saw somebody rooting through the fridge and gasped in surprise. Sora flinched at the sudden noise, and hastily pulled his head out. Looking around, the boy determined that he must be the source of the problem and apologized.  
  
"I-it's no problem," Shinobu replied, shaking her head. I just didn't hear you come in."  
  
Sora was already looking for something to eat though, and he merely grunted a reply.  
  
"Oh, t-that's right. You haven't eaten anything today," Shinobu continued nervously. Sora didn't answer. "I should have lunch ready soon..."  
  
"I won't be around for lunch," Sora replied from the fridge.  
  
"Oh..." Shinobu replied, a little hurt. //Is he afraid to eat my cooking? That's probably why he skipped breakfast too...// "Well, I think it's going to be quite good."  
  
"I know," Sora replied.  
  
Shinobu looked the boy, confusion clearly evident on her face. "So..." She began, tentatively.  
  
"I have somewhere to go later," Sora shrugged.  
  
"Um... pardon my asking, but where?" Shinobu asked.  
  
"Nowhere," came the reply from the outside the kitchen. Entering, Keitaro regarded his son coolly. "He will stay right here for lunch."  
  
"Hai, otousan," Sora said as he bowed.  
  
Now in parent mode, Keitaro began to lecture. "You should be ashamed of yourself, Bandit. Shinobu-chan here works hard on her meals. The least you can do is eat, and appreciate her work." Looking at his son critically, Keitaro pressed his attack. "And what did I tell you about that bandana? You look like a pirate... and would it kill you to wear something other than black?"  
  
Sora ignored him, and turned to the girl. "Gomen nasai, I don't mean to offend... uh..." Sora blushed and looked at the floor. He bowed to Shinobu. "Sorry, but... uh... what is your name?"  
  
"Oops, I never actually told you my name," Shinobu said. "I am Maehara Shinobu."  
  
"Gomen nasai, Maehara-san," Sora said as he finally looking away from the ground. "I do not mean to offend."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Urashima-kun," Shinobu said, turning back to her cooking.  
  
"You may call me 'Bandit' if it pleases you," Sora said as he left the kitchen.  
  
After Sora left, Keitaro stood and watched Shinobu for a moment. //Hm... could it work...?// he thought to himself. //Well, I'll give it a shot...// "Shinobu-chan, can you do me a favor?" he asked.  
  
"Sure, sempai, what is it?" Shinobu smiled, turning to face Keitaro.  
  
"Well, this might be a rather large burden on you, so I wouldn't hold it against you if you refuse, but, do you think you could make sure Bandit eats properly?" Keitaro asked. "He is not used to eating on a regular pattern and it is rather difficult to force him to adjust to anything."  
  
"But you just made him agree to eat lunch this afternoon," Shinobu pointed out. "Can't you do that everyday?"  
  
"Well, not exactly... You see, Bandit is a ninja. And being a ninja such as he is, he tends to be really good at sneaking out of the house without me noticing. Which also means that he could run away forever if he is unhappy with his situation here," Keitaro explained. "He's already done it once."  
  
"I see. So forcing him into things will only make him run away," Shinobu said, nodding. "But why me?"  
  
"Come on, Shinobu-chan, it was a no-brainer. A pretty girl like you asking him? You'll have Bandit eating out of your hand," Keitaro said smiling. //I hope...//  
  
Shinobu blushed crimson. //Sempai think I'm pretty...// "Well, okay, sempai. I'll make sure he eats."  
  
"Thanks, Shinobu-chan," Keitaro replied.  
  
========================================================================  
  
Sora was now on the couch catching up on some much need rest. //Oh man... I can't believe I'm stuck here. Why'd otousan have to do that?// sniffing in the air, his mood brightened a bit. //Well, the food's good at least...//  
  
Sora closed his eyes and drifted off. //No use worrying about it. As soon as I find Koji, I'll be leaving anyway.// *thump* *thump* *THUMP* *THUMP* //Huh? What the hell is that?// Sora opened his eyes, and took a look around. //It's probably nothing...// he thought as he closed his eyes again.  
  
Suddenly, a mecha tama came crashing through the wall with a girl on it's back. Sora's eyes shot open in surprise and he dove out of the way as it destroyed the couch. Finally, it stopped, staring straight at Sora. "Hi!" the rider chirped cheerfully. "Wanna play with me for a bit?"  
  
"Not really," Sora replied, eyeing the huge turtle. //Holy...// He surreptitiously picked his Bo off the ground.  
  
"Come on," Suu whined.  
  
"No."  
  
"You're mean!" Suu pouted. "I don't like you! Mecha Tama, attack!" The machine lurched forward, heading straight for the small boy. Bandit stood with the bo at his side, unmoving. Then with a flick of his wrist, he launched a dart out of the end of the hollow staff. It struck the machine right in between the head and neck, penetrating the light armor there and damaging the internal circuitry.  
  
The robot went ballistic, tossing its head around. Suu struggled to hold on. "What's wrong? What did you do to my Tama?"  
  
"You should find a better place for the main computer," Sora said evenly. "You must have put it in the head, which means all commands must be transferred from the computer to the rest of the body by way of the neck. The armor in that area of the body is too thin, though, making it an easy and rather obvious target."  
  
Suu screamed as she was thrown from the robot. Sora sprung into action and caught the girl before she hit the ground. The mecha tama then exited the room creating yet another hole in the wall. After the dust cleared Sora's mind began to exit his fighting mode. "Um... where's that thing going? I thought I fried its main computer..."  
  
"You did," Suu said, smiling. "And you were right about most of that stuff you said earlier." She then moved around Sora so she was on his back. //What's with this girl?// he thought as he shifted to support her weight. "Wow, you're really smart! But Suu-chan is smarter! You know why?" She asked. Sora merely shook his head and walked over to the hole the beast created when leaving.  
  
"Well, I thought that Mecha Tama might take damage to its neck area, destroying the passageway for data. Of course, there is a secondary computer that issues the body a command to destroy all nearby targets," Suu explained.  
  
"How is that possible? There is no main computer to seek out enemies," Sora pointed out.  
  
"Uh-uh," Suu chirped, "The main computer is responsible for the logic end of operation, mainly identifying enemies and planning out the best course of action for bringing them down. Actual commands are handled by the individual parts themselves."  
  
Sora nodded his head, "So, let me get this straight. There's a killer robot out in the town, with no way of discerning friend from foe, literally surrounded by innocent people."  
  
"Yup! You really are smart!" Suu cried happily.  
  
Sora rolled his eyes. //This is definitely gonna be one of those days...// "Hold on tight," he told Suu as he sprinted through the hole.  
  
"Wow, you're really fast too," Suu said as trees blurred all around them. "I've changed my mind. I like you."  
  
//Good to hear...// Sora thought sarcastically. "How fast can that thing move?"  
  
"Well," Suu said putting a finger to her lip, "with the ion boosters I installed last week, it should max out at about sixty miles per hour..." Sora groaned audibly. "Hey, don't worry though. Look," she said gesturing to the scenery ahead of them. "You see how the path it left behind veers around? It's wasting time doing zigzags. With your speed, you should be able to catch up to it if you continue in a straight line."  
  
"Great," Sora mumbled. //More running. Where does this girl get the parts for these things, anyway? And how can someone act so ditzy, but be so smart at the same time?// "Just make sure you hold on tight." //Aoyama-san is going to kill me for this.//  
  
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Back at the Hinata-sou, the residents were inspecting the destruction of the living room. There were two large holes, one appeared to be burnt and still sizzling, the other was merely rammed through. There was a trail of upturned wood leading to where the couch usually sat. //Thank god there isn't any blood...// Keitaro thought. Keitaro sighed and rose from his kneeling position on the ground. "Yup, Naru-chan, you're right. I think this is definitely the work of Suu's mecha tama."  
  
Motoko was livid with anger. "And we can't find either one of them. I swear, if that demon harms one hair on Suu-chan's head, I'll kill him," she growled.  
  
"Relax, Motoko-chan. I doubt Bandit would go anywhere with Suu, and if he did, he will protect her with his life," Keitaro soothed.  
  
Mitsune smiled, "Yup, those two didn't waste any time running away to get married." Naru laughed, but swallowed it when Motoko glared at both of them.  
  
"Don't joke about that," she spat, "The fact that she went ANYWHERE with that demon is bad enough."  
  
"Um... well, I'm sure they'll be home soon," Shinobu said.   
  
"They'd better be," Motoko said as she went to her room.  
  
========================================================================  
  
It was nighttime now and the two kids walked side-by-side looking for the lost mecha tama. "Oh... where'd it go? I can't believe I lost it..."  
  
"You can't trace it?" Sora asked.  
  
"No..." Suu sniffed. Then she immediately brightened as if she wasn't on the verge of tears earlier. "Hey! Do you hear that?"  
  
"Banging," Sora replied, "About a hundred feet east of here."  
  
"Right! Now we can stop it and go home," She said brightly, as she hopped onto Sora's back. "Giddy up!"  
  
Sora was too caught up in the chase to feel ridiculous at the moment. He scaled up the side of a building and looked around. Sure enough, he spotted the mecha tama repeatedly beating its head against a wall. //How does the machine justify THAT as being logical?// Sora shook his head and leapt down after it.  
  
"Oh, I hope your not planning on fighting it with that stick," Suu said as he landed and quietly approached his target.  
  
"I have darts as well," Sora pointed out.  
  
"I know, but Suu-chan made the armor extra thick in the torso and the shell. I don't think, you'll be able to break through with those," Suu replied.  
  
//Damn it... I can use the 'Dark Fire'... Kami, I hope it doesn't come down to that...// Sora turned his head slightly so he could look at the girl. "So what do you propose?"  
  
"Easy," Suu smiled as she pulled the knot on Sora's bandana tighter. "You need to get me close enough so I can shut it off manually."  
  
//'Easy,' she says.// Sora thought, sarcastically. "How do I go about doing that?"  
  
"You can run really fast. I think you can keep up with mecha tama," Suu explained.  
  
//Hm... sixty miles an hour? Seems like the only way though.// "Okay, hold on tight..." Sora tensed and was about to launch himself at the beast when Suu stopped him. "What is it?"  
  
"Remember," Suu wagged a finger at him, "Suu-chan CAN'T work while holding on for dear life. You need to disable it for at least ten seconds, Okay?"  
  
"Hai, ten seconds," Sora nodded as he leapt out into the open.  
  
========================================================================  
  
Aoyama Motoko sat on the flat roof, meditating. Keitaro, Naru and Shinobu were a few feet away, watching for anyone approaching and chatting quietly amongst themselves.  
  
//Funny,// Naru thought to herself, //this is the second night in a row that we spent waiting for someone to return to the Hinata-sou. Do you think that perhaps Suu will bring her daughter home?// the absurdity of the thought made Naru giggle softly, but she quickly sobered. //I hope Suu-chan is alright...//  
  
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Sora ran along side the metallic monster, trying hard to keep pace. //Good thing this girl is light...// he thought. He veered in a bit closer, trying to close the gap in between them. As he moved in, the machine gained altitude and floated to the other side of him. He retried the maneuver, but the same thing happened again.  
  
"That won't work," Suu said, keeping her face away from the wind. "its sensors can tell when a target is too close and it automatically keeps its distance."  
  
//Automatically... That's it! Its reactions are preprogrammed, so if presented with the same problem, it will always come up with the same solution.// Sora thought. Sora moved in again, just as before, the machine lifted up and passed right over top of him. //Got it.// he thought as he spied the beast directly above him. With a flick of the wrist, Sora sent a dart straight through the left booster. Unable to retain control in the air, the mecha tama crashed into the ground, skidding to a stop. Still rushing the downed machine, Sora leapt high into the air, executing a forward flip and coming down hard with his staff, crushing the other booster.  
  
Suu wasted no time, jumping off Sora's back and landing on the mecha tama and opening up a small hatch on its back. Pulling a set of tools seemingly out of thin air, she set to work. Sora watched utterly confused and shock at the girl's skill as she tinkered with the machine. As promised, it was offline in exactly ten seconds.  
  
"Okay," she said cutely, "We can go home now."  
  
========================================================================  
  
"Look, there they are!" Shinobu said pointing out into the distance. Sure enough, Suu and Sora were coming over the hill with the mecha tama.  
  
Naru stood up and waved. "Hey," she called out, "Where the hell have you, been?"  
  
Sora shrugged as Suu ran ahead. //Great,// he thought, //she's leaving me to drag this thing by myself now.//  
  
When they reached the inn, Sora was greeted with a sword to his throat. Sora calmly looked up at his assailant. "Konbanwa, Aoyama-san," he replied evenly. "I'd bow, but I fear I might lose my head in the process."  
  
"Your fears are well founded, demon," Motoko growled in reply. "Do you mind telling me where you went with Suu-chan?"  
  
Sora was about to shrug, but thought better of it. "Her crazy robot went on a rampage. We went to stop it." Sora explained. "Look, I brought her back without a nick or a scratch on her. Shouldn't I get some credit here?"  
  
"Not really," She replied, taking the sword away from his throat. "But it's late, and we have school tomorrow." Turning her back on Sora, Motoko went back towards the inn. "Come on, Suu-chan, time for bed."  
  
"'Kay," Suu said as she started after her. She then stopped and turned to Sora. "Let's play again sometime. My name is Koalla Suu, but you can call me 'Suu-chan'."  
  
Sora bowed, "Goodnight, Suu-chan. You can call me 'Bandit' if you wish." Looking up, he saw the girls on the roof heading back inside. Keitaro leapt off the roof and landed right next to Sora.  
  
"So, I see you've met Suu-chan," Keitaro said grinning.  
  
Sora groaned, "Don't joke, otousan." He yawned then started to head for the inn. "Is it just me, or does nobody care that she is creating weapons of mass destruction?"  
  
Putting his arm around the small boy, Keitaro chuckled. "It's best not to think about it." Turning slightly to look at the boy, Keitaro frowned. "I thought I told you to take off that bandana..."  
  
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A/N: Well, there goes another chapter. I know, the plot is moving along rather slowly right now, but I promise it will pick up in a few chapters. Well, I've only received two reviews for the second chapter, so I don't know if I'm doing something wrong. I guess I'll just have to work with the input I've received.  
  
Oh well, I suppose I can't complain. I am brand new to the Internet so I suppose I have to battle with obscurity just like everyone else. Too bad. Please review. 


	4. Dark Fire: Motoko's Past

======================================================================= A/N: Well, it's me again. Thank you Leutan of the Drake, Nakahito (for leaving the same review not once but FIVE times. Guess he or she really wants that love story...), Vivi239, Spiritblade, S.M., and Patron Angel Tabris for taking the dive on the last chapter.  
  
Oh, and about the... uh... *oddities* Leutan pointed out about the last chapter, I can explain most of them, like the meta-human powers Sora showcased when battling mecha tama. As for Motoko suddenly deciding not to kill Sora after putting her sword to his throat... well... that was just a burst of pure, shameful apathy towards the end of the chapter. Anyway, I'll try to curb my laziness in the future, okay? All right, now on to business. I do not own Love Hina, and do not intend to. Also, this chapter will have some blood and gore, so tuck the kiddies in before reading.  
  
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Pride and Honor: Chapter 03 - Dark Fire ~ Motoko's Past  
  
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Summary:  
  
Sora's first full day at the Hinata turns out to be an interesting one as he meets the two youngest residents. The day gets even weirder as he's forced to hunt down a rampaging robot with one of his roommates built. With no intention of actually staying, though, Sora finds solace in the fact that he won't remain there much longer.  
  
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Naru sighed and looked up from her book, half expecting Keitaro to be there as he normally was. But lately, he's been skipping his morning study sessions to train with his son. //Baka...// she thought angrily. //How do you plan on getting into Toudai if you keep this up? You can't neglect your studies!// Naru knew, however, that this wasn't true. Keitaro merely shifted his schedule, opting now to study during the afternoon and night rather than during the morning and afternoon.  
  
Turning back to her book, Naru couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. Sure, Keitaro was a pain, but she had gotten used to him being in here, asking questions, or daydreaming. Now he was always training with Sora and would only come in for a little bit.  
  
Besides that, life was almost back to normal at the Hinata-sou. Keitaro was still his perverted self, often tripping and falling onto her fellow tenants of Naru herself and molesting them. The girls found that they could still hammer Keitaro out into orbit with general ease. He kept coming back as usual (though now the girls had a decent explanation about Keitaro's apparent immortality), irritated his son to no end. "Why do you put up with this," he would ask in his normal, cool manner. What bugged her was that the manager still insisted that these random gropings were still just mistakes, but he was always so graceful while fighting.  
  
When Naru approached Sora about this, the normally silent boy offered a rather brief explanation. "Otousan is a daydreamer," he said, shrugging. "He never really focuses on what is around him, so he trips a lot on things that most people would notice. In battle, though, his whole mind is focused on the destruction of his opponent."  
  
//Sora...// Naru thought to herself. The kid was an enigma. He rarely speaks unless spoken to. He moves around silently, causing some of the residents (even Motoko) to miss his entrance or exit of a room. He's barely even said two words to Naru in the week that he's been here. When he does speak, he does so softly. Motoko still trained on the roof at ungodly hours of the day, accompanied by the boy until she had to get ready for school. Then Sora trained on the roof by himself until Keitaro woke up after his late-night study sessions. Then they trained together for a while until Naru decided it was time for Keitaro to get some studying done.  
  
Looking at her watch, Naru noticed how late it was getting. Leaning out her window, she called out to the fighters on the roof. "Baka! Get cleaned up and get your butt in here!"  
  
"Hai, Naru-chan!" Keitaro called back as always. Naru knew how the rest of their day would go. Keitaro would come study with her until dinnertime, then he would finish up his chores and retire to his room and study until his eyes could no longer stay open.  
  
Sora would practice until Motoko, Suu, and Shinobu returned from school, which he would take as his cue to stop training and take a shower. Then he would come down to kitchen where Shinobu would try to coax him to eat lunch (with varying degrees of success). Afterwards, he would help out his father by taking care of most of Keitaro's chores for him. Afterwards, he'd play with Suu for a while (how on earth did those two become friends?) before disappearing from dinner, never to be seen again until the next morning, much to Shinobu's frustration. Naru's thoughts were interrupted by knock at her door. //Oops... I should be studying...// "Come in, Keitaro."  
  
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"Come on, Urashima-kun, I have lunch ready now. You need to eat and I'm not cooking a separate meal for you later," Shinobu urged.  
  
"Great," Sora's monotone voice replied.  
  
"So you're not going to eat?" Shinobu prodded.  
  
"No," Sora replied.  
  
"Why? Don't you like my cooking?" Shinobu asked.  
  
"Yes," Sora sighed.  
  
//Can this boy say more than one word at a time?// Shinobu rolled her eyes. "Then why won't you eat?"  
  
"I'm not hungry," Sora stated, leaning against the wall.  
  
Shinobu tried to hide her irritated groan. For the whole week, she has been subjected to this frustration everyday before lunch. It was making her rather touchy these days, and the other tenants noticed it. //What have I gotten myself into?// she thought.  
  
Last week, Shinobu had told Keitaro that she would make sure Sora ate regularly. //'You'll have Bandit eating out of your hand,' I think sempai had said...// She couldn't help but sniff at that. True, Sora liked her cooking, and he helped her with work a lot and seemed polite, but in all truth he just isn't used to living with other people. He didn't show up for breakfast, literally had to be forced by Shinobu to attend lunch (and even that didn't always work), and you could forget dinner. Shinobu couldn't even FIND the young ninja before dinnertime. She had promised, though, so she was going to keep trying. "Can you at least help me out?" she said regaining her composure.  
  
"Certainly, Maehara-san," Sora replied, bowing.  
  
"You know, you can call me 'Shinobu' if you like," Shinobu said as she handed him some vegetables to chop.  
  
"Only if you call me 'Bandit'," Sora replied. "You're the only one in the Hinata that refers to me in such a formal way." Shinobu saw a flash of a grin on his face. "Even Aoyama-san has a nickname for me."  
  
Shinobu sighed as she thought of the name, "demon," that Motoko had stuck to him. Suu thought it was some sort of food. "I don't know why she hates you so much..."  
  
"She will tell you why, in time," Sora said as he cut a carrot into small slices.  
  
They worked in silence for a while, neither one having anything to say. Upstairs they could hear shouting and screaming. Sora shook his head. During his stay, he noticed the trouble his father always seemed to find himself in, usually getting blasted into the lower atmosphere for in retribution. "I swear, people get dumber as they get older."  
  
Shinobu arched an eyebrow, "Oh? Why do you think that?"  
  
Putting a finger to his lips, Sora stopped working and listened. Shinobu, now curious, did the same. Upstairs, it was obvious someone was being chewed out. Finally two large blasts were heard and Keitaro went flying for the sky, his shout growing softer as he flew away. "See? Two years ago otousan would've annihilated them both. I would've at least dodged..."  
  
"Oh no, you've got it wrong... Sempai is doing the right thing," Shinobu said. "Responding to hate with hate doesn't solve anything."  
  
Sora seemed to consider this, then he nodded. "I agree, nothing is solved that way. But, it doesn't help anything to sit around and be victimized all the time."  
  
"Well, that's also true, but it makes me sad when I see people hate each other. I feel that we should try to avoid violence at all costs," Shinobu said as she watched the spot Keitaro flew off in sadly.  
  
Sora looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Hm... You look like a little girl, but I can see you're already grown up," he said, a slight grin on his normally stoic features. "Maybe I really should keep calling you 'Maehara-san'."  
  
Shinobu blushed red. "Uh... no, that's okay, Uras... uh... Bandit," she stammered.  
  
Sora arched his eyebrow slightly at this. "You don't take compliments all that well, do you?" he said as he continued to chop vegetables. Shinobu watched him, still blushing. //Augh... What is wrong with this kid, anyway? One moment he's ignoring me and then he's teasing me!// Finally clearing her head, Shinobu aimed to find something else to talk about.  
  
"Um... shouldn't you remove your gloves when working with food?" Shinobu said gesturing to the black, fingerless gloves Sora always wore.  
  
Sora continued to work, his eyes narrowing slightly. Shinobu could feel his barrier come back up as he redoubled his efforts in chopping vegetables. "No," he replied evenly.  
  
//Great... back to one word answers...// Shinobu thought as she went back to work.  
  
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Aoyama Motoko was lying on her futon, thinking. When Suu had returned from her night out with Sora a week ago, she had been bursting with energy. But what the girl had told her about their battle with mecha tama troubled her. Sora had ran down the robot on foot, with Suu on his back, managed to put it out of commission with a dart and a staff, and then dragged it home. That wasn't the only thing that troubled her though. Suu had said that she had seen white hair coming out the back of Sora's bandana.  
  
//White hair...// Motoko thought. //Just like that time...//  
  
~~  
  
Kyoto, Japan - Nine years ago.  
  
Aoyama Motoko stood, all of six years old, waiting impatiently for the new students to arrive. There were three of them coming in, both from the semi-legendary Toma clan. //Oneesama says they are both very good with a sword. I must work hard or I'll be overcome...// Motoko tried hard to sober herself, but she couldn't help but smile brightly. She loved challenges and this looked like it would be a good one...  
  
"Here they are, oneechan," said her older sister said pointing to two travelers on the road. Apparently, her older sister was thinking the same thing as her, because she was rather unsuccessful at hiding here excitement.  
  
The two came up to the dojo and introduced themselves as Toma Jeros, Toma Yuki, and Toma Miko. Jeros was a boy of about twelve, rather tall for his age and handsome. His dark brown eyes were warm and open, as opposed to most of the other fighters his age, who tried to appear cold and distant. His black hair was pulled into a ponytail that came down to about his waist.  
  
His sister Yuki, was about Motoko's age, but in comparison to her brother, looked very dangerous. Her brown eyes were darting around, trying hard to watch everyone at once. Her black hair came to about her chin. In spite of her hard features, she was very pretty. Motoko kept a nervous eye on the girl's sword hand.  
  
Miko was the oldest one, about twenty-four. She had long black hair and dark brown eyes that looked rather sad at the moment. She was very polite and very graceful, but seemed preoccupied at the moment. Motoko would only know this woman one year before she disappeared from the dojo, never to be seen again.  
  
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*Four years later*  
  
Motoko and Yuki faced each other with bokkens. Over the years they had become best friends, often training with each other, exploring the areas around the dojo, or just talking. It turned out that their personalities were polar opposites. Both were very determined to master the Shiemei style, both were very good go, but then the differences started to show.  
  
First off, the dangerous-looking little girl Motoko had met that first day was gone, replaced by someone open and friendly. Whereas Motoko had a general mistrust of males, Yuki seemed to like boys. She took quite an open interest in them, actually, which irritated Motoko slightly. "We're only ten!" Motoko would shout. "Oh come on, Motoko- chan, it never hurts to look," she would reply, smiling slightly.  
  
Even there fighting styles differed. While Motoko usually hung back and defended until she saw a weakness, Yuki attacked furiously, trying to floor opponents before they could get a feel for her. Both girls were rather popular around the dojo and in town, pretty well known for their skill with a sword and their closeness.  
  
At that moment Jeros entered the room. "Are you two at it again?" he asked grinning. "Don't hurt my sister, Motoko-chan," he said lightly. Motoko blushed and looked at the floor. It was odd, but lately all Motoko could do lately whenever Jeros spoke to her was blush and mumble incoherently. It was rather unsettling, but Yuki found it hilarious.  
  
"I don't think Motoko-chan is interested in fighting any more, oniisan," Yuki giggled. "I wonder why?"  
  
"Shut up!" Motoko retorted sharply.  
  
"Well, it's good that you are finished. I need to train with my unit for a little while," Jeros replied as he gestured to the men behind him.  
  
This came off as rather odd to Motoko. "Oh?" she said, "Why so many?"  
  
"We need to deal with some vermin..." Jeros replied nonchalantly.  
  
"So, oniisan, going to see some actual combat?" Yuki smiled and bowed to her older brother. "Good luck."  
  
Motoko bowed, "I wish you luck as well."  
  
"Thank you, but I create my own luck," Jeros smiled.  
  
The men left later that day and returned in three days, having successfully completed their mission.  
  
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*One year after that*  
  
"Come on, Motoko-chan, you've been pining after him for years now!" Yuki said, exasperated. "You should say something."  
  
"For the LAST TIME! I do NOT like your brother, okay Yuki-chan?" Motoko said with finality. The girls had just returned from a day spent wandering through the town (after they finished training of course), and spent most of the trip home arguing about Yuki's "obsession", as Motoko put it, with boys. The conversation quickly turned when Yuki mentioned Motoko's nervousness around Jeros.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, sure," Yuki replied shaking her head.  
  
Motoko turned away from her friend and set her eyes on the dojo. There were a lot of people gathered around the outside, but no one seemed willing to enter for some reason. "Why is there a crowd?" she asked. "Did you hear about anything special happening today?"  
  
"No," Yuki replied. Both girls began running, intent on finding out what the commotion was about. Once inside, they witnessed a scene Motoko would never be able to erase from her memory. Bodies were strewn about the floor, gashes in their throats, fresh blood still poured from some victims. Motoko looked around the room in horror, stepping around a headless body as she made her way in.  
  
"What happened?" she asked a man who was looking around the room as well.  
  
"Well, I'm not quite sure..." he scratched his chin. "But all the people here were involved in the raid last year. Nobody else in the area even noticed the attackers."  
  
//That raid last year...?// Motoko thought. "Jeros..." she said softly, "Where's Jeros?"  
  
Yuki picked up on this immediately. Her mind snapped back to reality and she nearly strangled the man who was examining the bodies. "Where is he!? Where!?"  
  
The man pointed to the room behind him, gasping for air as the little girl released him. They both made a mad dash for the room, praying that the boy had made it out alive. What they saw, drove both girls to tears. Jeros had a staff stabbed through his neck, pinning him to the wall behind him. One eye had been removed, the face locked in a horrified gaze. Written in his blood above the wall were the words 'DARK FIRE'.  
  
Stumbling out of the room, Motoko ran from the dojo, her tears coming in waves. //They'll pay for this... THEY'LL PAY!!!//  
  
Outside, she noticed another crowd around a warrior. He was tall, wearing a mask around his mouth, but he kept his hair uncovered. His eye were glowing an ugly red, and his hair was white and seemed to be slicked straight backwards. He looked like some horrible demon.  
  
Around him were the bodies of several samurai, disposed of in one slash of the sword and then forgotten. He looked at the crowd, holding his sword loosely at his side, daring someone else to attack him. When he saw that no such challenge was forthcoming, he began to speak. "My name is Auron Ryo. I bring a message for the members of the Toma clan: For your attack on the Kato Ninja, prepare for your destruction at the hands of the 'Dark Fire'. Know that such an attack was not only unprovoked, it is unforgivable. To the Aoyama clan: Know that the Kato and the Auron clan are allies. If you do not want your clan destroyed you will leave both clans alone." The ninja bowed politely, then exited the area.  
  
Yuki sat in the room all day, staring at her brother's corpse. She didn't move even when men came in and took the body away. That night she disappeared and was never seen again.  
  
A day later, the Toma family dojo was raided and destroyed. Once they heard the news, the Aoyama clan moved against the Auron and the Kato ninja.  
  
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*Present*  
  
Motoko opened her, shaken by the recollection. Suddenly she stood up. //I'll find that demon and have him explain why his hair turned white,// she thought as she stalked from her room.  
  
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Sora walked down the halls of the Hinata-sou, having just finished cleaning. His lunch settled in his stomach uncomfortably, his body not used to eating so often. //How did that girl talk me into eating?// Sora sighed. He knew how it had happened. It was that look all girls worldwide had perfected that said "Please? I'll cry if you say no...". He bet that even Motoko had a look like that, but didn't use it.  
  
Suddenly Suu came flying in and landed on Sora's back. "Hi, Bandit!" she greeted.  
  
"Hi, Suu-chan," he replied. "How are you?"  
  
"Bored," she chirped. Sora swallowed his feeling of impending doom. Last time she said she was bored, he had to chase down a killer robot on foot, and drag it back to the Hinata. His back still hurt from the effort.  
  
"Oh," Sora said nervously. "Well, how about we play a game?"  
  
Suu smiled, "Really? What?"  
  
Sora put a look of mock enthusiasm on his face. "We're going to have a sleeping contest! Don't you want to go to sleep?"  
  
"It's only 6:30..." Suu pointed out, confused. "I'm not tired."  
  
"I am," Sora replied. Noting the girl's slight disappointment, he gave in. "Fine, what do you want to do?"  
  
"Yeah! All right we'll--" Suu cut off sharply. "Oh, Motoko- chan!"  
  
Sora froze. "Hello Aoyama-san," he said. Motoko didn't reply, but gave him a rather cold stare. At this, Sora's eye's narrowed. //Whatever is bothering her now, it is serious.//  
  
"Hello, demon, I was looking for you," Motoko replied.  
  
"Without your sword?" Sora replied evenly.  
  
"Stop joking," she retorted.  
  
"Sorry," Sora said mechanically. "What do you need?"  
  
Suu was rather worried that a fight would break out. Both people were always nice to her, but she knew what their cool demeanor towards each other could mean. "Don't fight, Motoko-chan. Bandit was only being nice to me..."  
  
"Don't worry, Suu-chan, we won't fight here. I'm not even armed," Motoko replied. She turned to Sora. "I just need to know one thing, demon."  
  
Sora shifted uncomfortably. He had no clue what was coming, but he knew it would be bad. "What is it, Aoyama-san?"  
  
"How did you manage to fight Suu-chan's mecha tama with a staff. What s the full extent of your power?" Motoko asked.  
  
Sora kept his face smooth, but inside he was reeling. Suu looked on, curiously, as Sora toyed with the idea of running away. //I hoped I would be gone before they started wondering about that... But, they have a right to know. All of them.// Sora locked eyes with Motoko (slightly dismayed by the fact that he had to look up to do so). "Gather everyone in the living room. I'll explain it to them there." Then, with Suu still on his back, he went to the living room to wait.  
  
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A/N: Sorry, I know this chapter came in really late. I've been rather busy lately, though (school nearing final exams, a slight increase in chores at home, a trip to New York with my church that utterly sucked and took up my entire weekend...). Well anyway, thank you for the input and please review this chapter so I can know if I'm doing something wrong (or right). See you later (Oh, and try to get some sleep tonight Leutan) - Stizzo 


	5. Dark Fire: The Bandit

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A/N: You know, I'm actually quite surprised (pleasantly, mind you). When I started this story, I assumed that I would piss off somebody with the amount of changes I've made to the original story. So far, though, I've received nothing but good reviews (Oh man, I really shouldn't give anybody any ideas...). Thank you S.M., Foolishwisemonk, Patron Angel Tabris, Jonathan Shim (who also left a review under the name "Fellow Author", if I'm not mistaken), Vivi239, Spiritblade, and Leutan of the Drake.  
  
For you reviewers that had questions:  
  
Patron Angel Tabris - Keitaro will fight at some point of the story, but not much. He's no longer a warrior. And about the lack of Mitsune in the story... I actually didn't notice that until you pointed it out. Thank you for the help, that was rather sloppy of me.  
  
Jonathan Shim - Sora's (Bandit's) past will come into the light later. Though little bits and pieces of it will come foreword.  
  
Spiritblade - Hm... your guess IS rather interesting, but incorrect. I can't tell you much because I want to keep Sora's past a secret, but I will tell you this: Keitaro is NOT a ninja (but he is involved with the Auron family).  
  
Leutan of the Drake - About revenge not being a part of bushido... well... I'm not entirely sure about that, but I'll just assume you're right (I bet you know more about the samurai than I do). I took a guess and assumed that the ninja murdering the samurai clansmen, and sending a lone fighter to taunt them, whilst killing MORE samurai, would mean an instantaneous counter-attack. Keitaro never abandoned Sora (Sora ran away from the Urashima residence), so there are no hard feelings there. And rest assured, this story is NOT going hentai, so you can put the can down. To answer your third question, yes, Sora has been wearing gloves every time he's in public. Finally, a fish sandwich sounds good, but I think I'll pass... Thanks anyway.  
  
Yeesh... this A/N is taking FOREVER, but I feel I owe it to the people that take time to review my stories. Thank you very much (you don't know how helpful the feedback I'm getting is). All right, on to business. I do not own Love Hina, and never will. Furthermore, I am receiving no money for this.  
  
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Pride and Honor: Chapter 04 - Dark Fire ~ The Bandit  
  
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Summary:  
  
Motoko recalls the events years ago that resulted in her best friend's disappearance, and the death of a loved one. What triggered the memory was Suu's story about Sora's hair turning white while battling mecha tama. When asked to explain, the young ninja tells Motoko to gather the residents of the Hinata.  
  
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Narusegawa Naru sat in the hot springs along with Maehara Shinobu and Konno Mitsune. None of them were saying much, mostly worn out by their day. Naru's study session with Keitaro was rather frustrating. It seemed that the ronin was being stupid on purpose. His practice test scores were low and he seemed more distracted than ever.  
  
Mitsune's job hunt was beginning to wear on her as well. "Man," she sighed. "I don't understand why every employer wants someone with experience! How does a person even go about getting experience when nobody will hire them?" A sympathetic murmur passed around the hot springs, but no one was really listening at the moment.  
  
Shinobu was a little worn out as well. Sora was being a pain throughout the day. She had spent most of lunchtime trying to convince him to stay for dinner, and only received a non-committal grunt in response. She hadn't seen the boy for three hours now, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he was still somewhere in the Hinata. "You really shouldn't let that boy bother you like that," Naru said, noting the young girl's unease. "You should be more assertive."  
  
"W-What are you talking about?" Shinobu asked innocently.  
  
"Oh come on, Shinobu-chan, I was sitting at lunch as well. You spent the entire time pleading with Urashima-kun. You'll NEVER get him to do anything like that," Naru said shaking a finger.  
  
Mitsune grinned, "You should listen to her, Shinobu-chan. Naru-chan has got Kei-kun eating out of her hand."  
  
"Quiet, Kitsune!" she snapped. She saw Naru tense up and knew she struck a chord. //You're too easy to tease, Naru-chan...//  
  
"Uh... Naru-sempai?" Shinobu asked timidly, "I don't think I can treat Bandit the way you treat Keitaro-sempai..."  
  
"Nonsense," Naru waved the young girl's question off. "All boys are the same. I bet he'll fold right up."  
  
//How would she know?// Shinobu wondered. //I don't think Bandit has even spoken to her yet...//  
  
Naru then noticed Aoyama Motoko approaching. By the look on the young samurai's face, Naru could tell that Motoko was having a bad day as well. Her eyes were slightly red as if she had just woken up and they darted around nervously as if something dangerous was occurring.  
  
"Hello, Motoko-chan," Naru greeted. "Why are you dressed? You're not coming in?"  
  
Motoko shook her head. "No, Naru-sempai, I won't be joining you right now. The demon told me to gather everyone, and even though I hate delivering his message, I urge you to hear what he has to say."  
  
Shinobu's ears perked up. "What could it be? He's not leaving already, is he?"  
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure he couldn't possibly find a better living arrangement than here," Mitsune smirked. "Any thirteen year-old boy would kill to be surrounded by all these women."  
  
Naru rose out of the water. "Well, now is a good time as any to find out what he has to say," she said as she wrapped her towel around her. "Let's go."  
  
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Urashima Sora was lying on the couch, pondering his next move. His face didn't show much aside from his usual calm, but he was racking his brains for a way to explain his power to the other residents. Eventually, he gave up, deciding that evasiveness would help nothing. Looking up, he saw Suu buzzing around the room, making plenty of noise for the both of them.  
  
"Suu-chan, do you think I'm a monster," he asked suddenly. He needed an opinion and Suu was the only one of the girls that had seen him in action.  
  
"Of course!" she chirped loudly, nodding in the affirmative and smiling. She came over to the couch and hugged him. "Yup! You're my monster!" She then got up and went completely insane, pretending to be destroying a city.  
  
"Okay, forget I asked!" Sora broke in, but it was too late. The girl was no longer listening to him. Sora sweatdropped. //SHE'S in a good mood...// Groaning in supreme irritation Sora covered his ears. //I DON'T need this right now...// He tuned the girl out as she resumed her rampage and lost himself again in his thoughts.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened and four girls entered the room, Keitaro right behind them. Sora made sure not to look at them, trying to stall for a few more seconds before he would have to explain himself.  
  
"Well, demon," Motoko said as she approached Sora. He noted with some dismay that she now had her sword, her right hand gripping the hilt. "I think this is everybody. Now let us hear what you have to say."  
  
Sora waited as everyone got themselves situated, he himself standing in the middle of the room. The girls formed a circle around him, all waiting impatiently for him to begin. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for bothering you all, but I decided I should tell you a little about my background if I'm going to be staying here.  
  
"I suppose you have all heard the term 'Dark Fire' before, and you all know that I am a ninja. The name I received upon my birth was Auron Sora, but was changed after my late father's death and the ensuing marriage between my mother and Keitaro. Both the Auron and the Kato are known as the 'Dark Fire', a clan of ninja that are known to be extremely dangerous."  
  
"That is an understatement, ninja," Motoko broke in.  
  
"But Sora has been here a whole week and hasn't done anything," Shinobu pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, even I look stronger than him," Naru said. "How is it that such a small kid can be associated with such a deadly clan of ninja?"  
  
"I don't know, Naru, I think anyone that can bring down a mecha tama with a staff and some darts is rather powerful," Mitsune broke in. "But he hasn't even hinted at aggression."  
  
"Yeah, Bandit saved the town from Suu-chan's mecha tama," Suu broke in. "He didn't have to, but he did it anyway."  
  
"What Aoyama-san says has a good amount of truth to it," Sora said quietly. All eyes turned back to the boy. "She is the only one here except for myself and otousan that have confronted the 'Dark Fire' before. Make no mistake about it. I'm a killer. And I'm NOT a nice person. I am a demon, just as Aoyama-san says."  
  
"Maybe you should know a little more about the 'Dark Fire'," Keitaro said after Sora had gone quiet. "The Auron is one of the older ninja clans. It is suspected that the clan, as a whole, is responsible for the deaths of nearly thirty-five million people throughout history. The 'Dark Fire' was a name given to them by the people that feared them. They move swiftly through the night, sneaking into towns or military bases, and completely destroying them and vanishing once again, hence the name 'Dark Fire'."  
  
Everyone sat a moment, allowing the last bit of information sink in. They were all in the presence of an accomplished killer. They ate, slept, bathed, and spoke with a boy that could have murdered them all in the night. Naru spared an apprehensive glance at Sora before continuing. "Wait a minute, Keitaro..." Naru asked. "What about you? Are you a part of this clan as well?"  
  
An uncomfortable silence passed, as all eyes turned to Keitaro. Keitaro sat up a little straighter, trying to keep his gaze level.  
  
"Otousan is not a ninja," Sora replied before Keitaro could open his mouth. "If he was, he would've tried to kill me." Naru was about to further question the boy when Motoko spoke.  
  
"Enough of this," she broke in harshly. "So what: You're a demon! I knew that already! What I want to know is how you defeated Suu-chan's mecha tama."  
  
Sora's eye twitched slightly, and the other girls watched as he the two fighters glared at each other for a moment before Sora shrugged and begun to leave. "Follow me," he instructed. The other girls complied readily.  
  
=======================================================================  
  
While walking up to the flat roof, the girls talked amongst themselves. "I don't get it..." Shinobu said sadly, "He's KILLED people before?"  
  
Motoko scoffed, "I don't know why you're so surprised. He is a ninja, and all they're good for is murder."  
  
"Well, the kid IS rather scary-looking," Mitsune said as they continued along. "I think we should be more careful around him. Keitaro too."  
  
"No!" Suu objected loudly. "Bandit's nice! He hasn't hurt Suu-chan at all, and Keitaro would never hurt anybody!"  
  
"I think we should hear them out first," Naru said.  
  
"Oh please, Naru-sempai, you're smarter than that!" Motoko spat. "The child is EVIL, and his father could be worse!"  
  
"That isn't true," Shinobu broke in, "Keitaro has been here for a while now and hasn't even fought back when you and Naru-sempai hit him."  
  
"Well, let's see what this kid can do. We can decide if he's dangerous afterwards," Naru said, shrugging.  
  
"Of course he's dangerous," Mitsune said calmly. "He can enter and exit rooms without us noticing, he has a full arsenal of weapons in his room, he's powerful... but what can we do about it? I say we just listen to what they say..." She trailed off.  
  
"He won't hurt us," Shinobu replied quietly. "I've been alone with him in the kitchen several times this week and he hasn't done anything."  
  
"You talk as if you know him, Shinobu-chan," Motoko rolled her eyes. "He's only been here a week."  
  
"That means you can't judge him as well," Shinobu replied.  
  
"Look," Naru cut in, "This is POINTLESS. Let's just see what they'll do, okay?"  
  
=======================================================================  
  
Sora and Keitaro faced off against each other on the flat roof, the girls watching earnestly. A cold wind blew through the area, as Sora prepared himself mentally to begin the show. "Are you sure about this, otousan?" he asked. "You know it is impossible to fully control the 'Dark Fire'... I might kill you."  
  
"Please, I've taken plenty of abuse in my life. A little more won't kill me," Keitaro smiled. "Especially from you, slacker."  
  
Sora nodded and undid the knot on his bandana, pulling it off. He walked over to Shinobu, bowed, and offered it to her. "Hold this for me, please?"  
  
Shinobu bowed back and accepted the item, confused as to why he was removing it in the first place. //The bandana seems to be important to him... Maybe he just doesn't want to get it dirty.// Sora removed his gloves and dropped them on the floor, feeling odd (naked almost) without his bandana and gloves on. Walking back over Keitaro, they bowed to each other and got into fighting stances.  
  
A moment passed as both fighters assessed each other. Both waited for a moment of weakness, balancing easily in their stances. The girls watched tensely, preparing themselves to witness a fight between their beloved manager and his son. Motoko gripped her handle as she felt both warrior's power increase drastically. //Since when did they get this strong?// she wondered. //Whoever these two are, they are definitely not normal...// Sora slid forward slightly, still looking for an opening. Then Keitaro blinked.  
  
Instantly, Sora charged forward and swung with his fists. Keitaro sidestepped, moving so quickly that an outline of his figure was left behind in his place. Spinning around, Sora crossed his arms across his face, blocking Keitaro's flying kick. He forced the leg back, knocking Keitaro off-balance and he followed up with a flurry of punches that only Motoko could follow. Keitaro kept busy, dodging and blocking blows as he was driven back. Suddenly, he caught Sora's arm and delivered a powerful elbow to his side, sending the boy skidding across the ground. As he slid, Sora put a hand to floor and used his momentum to execute a back flip off the ground.  
  
Sora slid back into his stance, quickly becoming impatient. He charged again, this time unleashing a quick flurry of kicks. Keitaro answered, matching his combo perfectly and effectively canceling it. Both fighters ended off with their legs crossed in the air in an X shape. Sora leapt away from him and shrugged.  
  
"As you can see this battle is going nowhere. Bandit is withholding his energy at the moment, using his 'normal' form for the time being," Keitaro said, sweating slightly from the brief stint of action. "Time for you to use the 'Trance'." He said to Sora.  
  
Sora nodded and shut his eyes, clenching his fists tightly at his sides. He stood there, silent for a moment with his head down. Suddenly, his hair whipped backwards, blowing in a wind that seemed to have just picked up, before it shimmered and turned white. His hair stood straight backwards, as if he was victim of an electric shock. Looking up slowly, Sora opened his eyes, which were glowing an ugly red. He lifted his left hand and showed it to the girls. On it was the kanji for 'Evil', glowing as red as his eyes.  
  
The girls unconsciously took a step back. //Oh Kami...// Motoko thought. //The boy IS a demon...// the boy looked like he was possessed, glaring darkly at the girls. Motoko could feel his energy quite clearly now.  
  
Turning angrily to Keitaro, Sora resumed his attack, seemingly disappearing from his spot on the roof. Keitaro was driven up into the air with a somersault, and the boy followed up his attack, moving so fast that Keitaro was suspended in mid-air. //This can't be real...// Motoko thought to herself. All she could see were flashes of light, and Keitaro spinning and jolting around crazily in the air. Finally Sora reappeared above Keitaro where they both appeared to hover in the air a moment. Sora raised both hands above his head, preparing for the final blow. The girls watched, stunned, as he brought both fists down with a battle cry, his small fists flying down and connect right on the top of Keitaro's head. On impact, a flash of energy seemed to explode from Sora's body. Keitaro flew straight through the roof, a shockwave of wood pieces and wind assaulting the girls as Keitaro continued to fly through the inn, before landing on the bottom level. Naru let out a strangled cry as the dust settled.  
  
Sora landed on the roof, dropping to one knee and holding the position for a second. //Damn it, otousan, I told you... It's impossible to fully control the 'Dark Fire'...//  
  
He rose slowly, once again looking at the girls with his blood red eyes. Naru glared at the boy for a moment. //He's crazy...// she thought. //No... he's a demon...// turned away, angrily, and ran downstairs to check on Keitaro. Mitsune followed her friend silently. Shinobu approached Sora cautiously, being careful not to look at him.  
  
"You hurt sempai," she said softly.  
  
"I know," Sora replied. His voice sound artificial, almost like that of a robot. It sent an odd tingle down the girl's spine.  
  
"Why? Why did you have to?" she asked, tears brimming in her eyes. "Do you hate him?"  
  
"I was only showing you what I could do. Otousan told me not to hold back, so I didn't," Sora said unconsciously rubbing his side where Keitaro had elbowed him. //He sure wasn't...//  
  
//So cold...// Shinobu thought to herself. She couldn't bring herself to look at his eyes. //So this is the real Bandit?// "Monster..." she said softly. "Motoko-sempai was right, you ARE a monster!" She threw his bandana at him and fled.  
  
//I'm kinda getting tired of hearing that... Can't people be a little more original when they try to hurt my feelings?// Sora thought as he let his energy fade and his body relax. His hair and eyes changed back to their original color. Sora picked his bandana up off the floor and went to gather his gloves. //Well, I'm leaving soon anyway.//  
  
As he was tying the knot on his bandana Motoko stood in front of him with Suu clinging to her back.  
  
"Congratulations, demon," she said evenly. "Not only have you managed to scare everyone here, you might have actually managed to kill Urashima-san."  
  
"Does that mean I scare you as well," Sora replied icily.  
  
"Of course not," Motoko scoffed. Sora noticed that she was gripping the hilt of her katana tightly. When he looked back up, his eyes were glowing red once again.  
  
"So," he said, narrowing his eyes, "I suppose you grip the hilt of your sword as a gesture of good will?"  
  
Motoko gritted her teeth. "Demon... You've just injured your father. He's down there and he could be dying, yet you sit here and act like the same unfeeling monster you have been ever since you've come here."  
  
"He's alive," Sora spat, his red eyes flashing. "You can sense him just as well as I can!"  
  
"Well you didn't have to continue," Motoko said harshly.  
  
"Yes I did!" Sora shouted, shocking both of the girls. Sora hadn't even raised his voice the whole week he was at the Hinata. He continued speaking, this time at his normal volume. "The technique I used to transform myself is called the 'Trance'. That was the lowest level of the trance, commonly called a 'Majin' form. As I ascend, my body becomes less and less human, making it so my actions are a little harder to control. I've come close to controlling the Majin form, but I still get a little excited during battle, often hurting opponents more than I want to."  
  
"You can't control it then?" Motoko asked.  
  
"I won't go on a rampage and kill everyone here, unless you force me into combat, if that is what has you so scared," Sora said turning away.  
  
"I'm not scared of you demon," Motoko spat.  
  
"That's right," Sora shot back ruthlessly, transforming into a Majin once again. "You're terrified. I've seen the look many times, Aoyama-san. So tell me, Aoyama-san, did you lose anyone special when your dojo was attacked? The look in your eye suggests something more than a mere loss of face."  
  
Motoko gritted here teeth, "That is none of your business, demon!"  
  
Sora walked a bit closer and stood on his toes to get a better look at Motoko's face. She pulled away quickly, her sword singing from her sheath. Suu leapt off of Motoko's back and kept her distance from her friend. Sora avoided the attack easily, disappearing and reappearing right behind Motoko. "Hm... must've been a boy... You were in love, weren't you?"  
  
"Shut up!" Motoko shouted. She struck out desperately with her sword, but Sora evaded her effortlessly.  
  
He continued ruthlessly. "I thought so. It was definitely love. I usually feel sick when I see the look of somebody who lost a lover... It's usually too painful to watch. But on you, it doesn't seem that bad... So, did you ever tell him?"  
  
Sora could almost feel her heart constrict after he said this. If it had been anybody else, he would've thought that the girl was about to cry, but he knew better. Motoko let out another yell as she continued her onslaught, but to no avail. Sora nodded gravely. "No, huh? That's really too bad... but I suppose it's better that way, ne? You didn't have much time to enjoy his company anyway..."  
  
Motoko continued to attack, her blade only striking out at air as Sora continued to dodge lazily. "I wonder what he felt..." Sora said as he sidestepped a downward thrust. "He probably screamed your name before-- "  
  
"Stop it!" Motoko screamed, too exhausted to continue her assault. "Just stop..."  
  
Sora stood silently a moment before speaking. "I was wondering how long it would take you to realize you can't beat me in your current form."  
  
Motoko spat into the floor while she caught her breath. "You've never spoken this much to me before. Why are you so vocal now?"  
  
"Because I'm trying to figure why you've been such a bitch to me ever since I've arrived," Sora said plainly. "Do you think I happen to like samurai? I you do, you're wrong. Dead wrong. I hate the samurai with everything that I am. I hate their arrogance, I hate bushido, and I hate you. Are you happy now?"  
  
"Thrilled," Motoko replied, regaining some of her former confidence. "I assume that your clan feels the same way?"  
  
"Yes," Sora replied, "They do." His eyes seemed to flare up a bit brighter than normal, the red glow crackling around Sora's eyes lightning. "You are all arrogant fools, frankly. Especially that kid, Toma Jeros." Motoko tried to hide her gasp, but Sora caught it. "Looks like I found our mystery man. So, you took a liking to the coward?"  
  
Motoko shut her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth. "Silence!" she shouted. "Jeros was no coward! He fought bravely and died for his clan!"  
  
"Sure, real brave. Jeros only struck down one ninja on that raid on the Kato. A wounded ninja who didn't even have his sword with him." Sora's voice suddenly went ice-cold. "And do you know who that ninja happened to be? Auron Ryu, my father who wasn't even a Kato ninja. Is this what you samurai call bravery? Sure, ninja don't use very straightforward tactics, but we don't confuse our treachery with bravery."  
  
"Shut up!" Motoko said, covering her ears. "SHUT UP!!!"  
  
Sora ignored her pleas and continued. "Don't want to believe me, huh? Well I don't blame you, but you can take my word for it; I was standing right there when the killing blow was dealt." Sora shrugged, "He challenge me after that: a distressed, little, nine year-old with only a bokken to defend himself with. I was forced to run..."  
  
"Shut up..." Motoko mumbled, running low on steam. "Enough lies..."  
  
"Of course, he had that foolish samurai habit of announcing his full name and rank to his opponents. Maybe back when the shogunate was still in power, this information wouldn't help possible pursuers that much, but let's face it: We're in the 90's. Just because we're ninja doesn't mean we can't use the Internet," Sora smirked slightly, his red eyes sending a chill down Motoko's spine. "I bet Jeros didn't look so brave when my uncle Ryo shoved a staff trough his throat... He probably made it very painful, too. Uncle Ryo loved his brother dearly..."  
  
Motoko's sword wobbled in her grip, the blade slowly rose to point at Sora. Then she charged one final time, refusing to back down. Sora lifted his left hand. the kanji inscribed in it shimmered white, and a glowing white card appeared in his hand. Sora drew his arm back and threw it, hitting Motoko in the right leg. Her leg crackled with energy as she fell over, her right leg now completely paralyzed. She hit the floor and continued skidding, stopping right at Sora's feet. His face was now stone cold, the energy in his eyes crackling again. He stomped on Motoko's wrist, forcing the sword from her grasp.  
  
"So, if you hated me from the beginning, why did you kneel to me the first time I challenged you?" Motoko asked, as she prepared for death.  
  
"I knew you wouldn't actually kill me if I conceded. You didn't have the eyes of a killer," Sora said.  
  
"True," Motoko replied. "But nobody has the eyes of a killer until they have killed somebody."  
  
"Also true," Sora replied in a monotone. "And if I had fought you that day, you would have killed me. In a fight, it is easy to forget the human part of our minds. It would've been you or me, and you would make the obvious choice, killing me instead of having me kill you. But, by not fighting you, I put you against yourself. You were forced to try and overcome your conscience and you failed."  
  
"What use was all of this, though? You knew you are stronger than me, and would've won that battle," Motoko pointed out.  
  
"That's the thing: I wasn't sure if you were stronger than me or not. I'm a ninja, remember? I don't throw myself into impossible battles. I don't assume I'm stronger than my enemies, but I find ways to weaken them until I'm assured a victory." Sora lifted his left hand, the kanji glowing white yet again. "And now, it's over," he said coldly. A ball of energy swirled in Sora's hand, the energy in his eyes crackled like mad. In between his fingers, Sora could see Motoko sit up as straight as she could with her useless leg.  
  
Sora paused when he heard a light sniffing. He didn't think too much of it at first, until it got a little louder. He looked up and saw Suu watching them with tears running down her face. She seemed to be repeating something over and over again, but no sound was escaping her lips. Sora's aim wavered a moment as he recalled the faces of other people who witnessed him destroying targets. //Usually, they scream and wail, and I thought that was a bad as it got. But Suu... she's completely silent... It's eerie...// Before Sora could steel himself, Suu ran over and hugged Motoko tightly. Sora's energy flickered a moment, then faded completely as he dropped his hand. //She's beaten me. Good move, Suu-chan...// Sora thought to himself as he left.  
  
For a long moment, the two girls sat there hugging each other. Finally, when she was sure no one else was around, Motoko began crying for the first time in years, once again remembering the two friends that were lost years ago.  
  
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A/N: Okay, I've finally finished this chapter. Man, I wish I were out of school now. It seems like a lot of authors on FF.net are on break right now, seeing as a there are a lot of updates recently. But hey, I've only got a few weeks left anyway, so I should stop complaining.  
  
Well anyway, I'm outta here, so see you next time. -Stizzo 


	6. Dark Fire: Infiltration

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A/N: Well, it's that about that time again... Hope you guys are still with me here. This past week has been pretty boring whenever I'm away from the computer. It seems to rain everyday here (killing my chances of playing a game of basketball at the courts), dad has confiscated my Gamecube along with my Dreamcast and my Playstation (actually, the Playstation belongs to Ee-zee, but *SHH!* please...). I'm going into withdrawal, with nothing to do all day except get a computer tan. Well, my school DID have their prom recently, but I didn't go. Hell, I probably won't go next year, even if it is my senior prom. Sure, the prospect of going out once in a while sounds appealing (I REALLY need to get away from this computer), or tempting even... so tempting that I considered actually buying a ticket... then I came to my fucking senses.  
  
The ticket costs, like, $50, then I'll need a tuxedo which is another $100 (to rent), then I'll need to rent a car which is another $250 gone, all just so I can hang out with a bunch of kids who will be drunk (or stoned) out of their frickin' mind. No thanks; this poor otaku's money is already tied up with buying anime and games. I'll just be one of the bums that only come to the after-prom party (I'll be the only dumbass in jeans and a t- shirt too).  
  
Sorry about the rant, but all this rain is putting me in a shitty mood. I hate having to sit still all the time and I'm afraid I've become addicted to anime, video games, and my computer. Actually, I'm quite sure I'm addicted now. It just seems odd now whenever I'm not in front of my computer or my T.V. or reading a book. It's like I can't exist normally anymore (except when I'm playing basketball or something, in which case I can't tell a pokemon from a pile of shit). The thing about anime/videogame/Internet addiction is that the person begins to lose touch of reality, swapping the real world for the virtual (or fantasy) worlds. It isn't surprising seeing as that is the goal of the designers of these worlds. I'm just wondering if they've become TOO effective in my case...  
  
All right! That's it, I swear! I'd better get to answering these reviews before this takes any longer.... Thank you Leutan of the Drake, Baron von Linux, Patron Angel Tabris (nice meeting you, amigo), Fellow Author Jonathan Shim, and Byoshioka for leaving reviews for the last chapter.  
  
For you readers who had question:  
  
Leutan of the Drake - Yikes... this is probably your longest review yet. Good stuff! I know, the OC seems rather odd right now, but hopefully by the end of the story you'll understand him. I don't want to tell you too much right now, but Keitaro still made that promise years ago to the same girl and the same place. The only difference in my version of his past is that he's the one that moved away first. Funny you ask about Koji (I just remembered him as well), but rest assured, he has a place in the story. As for Sora's ninja rank, he's technically still a student (he never fully completed his training), but his clan is obscenely powerful so I guess you could say he's a super ninja. Keitaro is an ex-warrior from a school that is affiliated with the 'Dark Fire' but the students were not considered ninja... His school does teach the 'Trance' though. That's all I'm saying right now. About Suu, personally I thought she was 14, but I'm hearing 13 from you, and 15 from a couple of other people. I consulted the 'net, but ended up a little more confused than before. For my purposes, I'll just say she is 14 and be done with it. Oh, and I sorry to hear about your lack of a vacation. Maybe my story will help cheer you up.  
  
Patron Angel Tabris - Good to see you like the fic. Now, about Sora's low level Trance form, the 'Majin'... well... I have no clue what Majin means really. I heard about it in the same show you did (DBZ) and I was digging for a name and that one just popped into my head. I just put it down and hope it wasn't the Japanese word for "faggot" or something. I know, another sloppy move by me... Yes, it is in fact the 'Dark Fire' that fuels Sora's bloodlust. I'll explain more about the symbol on his hand, and how it affects him later. As for romance... well, I'll tackle that when I need to, later on. Much later.  
  
Fellow Author Jonathan Shim - It looks like you got my e-mail (now I gotta go check mine). Keitaro can use a 'Trance' but it is different than Sora's transformation. I'll explain later. And poor uncle Ryo is long dead. Sorry.  
  
Okay, I'm finally done with the A/N. I really should stop rambling so much... Now, on to business. I do not own Love Hina and I do not intend to. Furthermore, I am making no money from this and am only writing for fun. Enjoy. -Stizzo  
  
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Pride and Honor: Chapter 05 - Dark Fire ~ Infiltration  
  
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Summary:  
  
Sora has shown off his 'Majin' form for the first time, and injures Keitaro in a sparring match. While everyone is busy taking care of the manager, Sora attempt to kill Aoyama Motoko, but is stopped by Koalla Suu. What will happen now?  
  
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Sora was sitting on top of a tall building, dressed in his black ninja gi and watching the moon. He was somewhere in Tokyo, but he wasn't quite sure where. Below him, the city was still bustling with activity, people milling around through the streets. All were too busy to notice the shadow that was currently in the middle of his favorite distraction: Roof hopping.  
  
Ever since he was a child, Sora would go out at night and merely wander around on the rooftops or in the shadows, seeing if he could avoid detection the entire time or how fast he could move. It was murder on his muscles (which were still tired from the workouts during the day), but he never felt as alive or free as when he was out.  
  
It was an odd diversion indeed, but it gave him some time to himself. And more importantly, it gave him time to think. //Though, I really don't want to think that much right now.//  
  
It had been two weeks since he showed the 'Trance' to the girls of the Hinata, and they haven't spoken to him since. Not that he had tried talking to them either, but he could see their expressions change whenever he entered a room or approached one of them. He even derived a sick sort of pleasure when he snuck up on them. This made the other girls furious, but they didn't seem to be interested in doing anything except making a few grumpy sounds. They all truly hated him and he knew it.  
  
~~  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Why, okaasan? Why does everyone hate us? We didn't do anything bad..."  
  
"Do not worry Bandit. You just don't belong here..."  
  
~~  
  
//But where do I belong...? Even my own family wants me dead...// Sora shook his head. //I made a grave mistake trying to kill Aoyama-san then... Why did I hatch that plan? Surely I could have isolated her later, without having to hurt otousan. I should have waited... Remember Sora: A hasty ninja is dead one.//  
  
Keitaro had been obviously pissed when he found out about his attempt on Motoko's life. "What the HELL, is wrong with you!?" he hollered. "Bandit, I swear, if I see you even lift a FINGER against Motoko-chan, I'll kill you myself!" He lectured him for the whole day, and Sora listened impassively. Then his face grew cold and he left the room. Keitaro hasn't spoken to Sora all that much in the last two weeks either, except when he was assigning him chores.  
  
Of course, Motoko's change in attitude towards him was the thing that shook Sora the most. She was very quiet all the time, bowing respectfully whenever she saw Sora, but she never spoke to him. She was also spending a lot of time up in her room.  
  
"She's going to stab herself," Sora said the morning after their fight when he met up with his father.  
  
"I know," Keitaro replied as he ran up the stairs in record time. When he came back down, he addressed his son coolly. "I don't know how you're going to deal with this, but you'd better make it right," he said. "I don't fight anymore, but I WILL pick up a sword again if you push Motoko- chan to kill herself."  
  
So there was his dilemma. His father was quite powerful, exiting the brutal attack two weeks ago with only a small fracture on his right arm (where he hit the floor) and a concussion. Hell, Sora's ribs cracked were from where he was elbowed early on in the fight. Also, he didn't use his trance, making the fight somewhat unbalanced.  
  
Sora sighed. //How the hell am I going to make things right with Aoyama- san?// he thought. He DID feel kind of bad about trying to kill her, though he normally didn't have to live with a person after beating them. It was disgusting. The proud (somewhat arrogant) samurai girl had completely lost her fighting spirit. //I know... I turned into a fool once I saw her. It wasn't her fault. I CAN'T blame her for otousan's death...// Sora sighed, //But what can I do? It's not like I can just apologize...//  
  
Sora stood up and looked out over the city. //Koji... where the hell are you? The sooner I can kill you, the sooner I can leave.//  
  
It has been two months since Auron Koji had challenged Sora to find and kill him. Sora's older brother turned out to be a worthy foe, injuring the young ninja on his first two attempts on his life. Sora had just barely escaped from those encounters, being hospitalized for about a month each time. //What is he planning? The clan is dead but he's obviously working towards the revival of the 'Dark Fire'. I must prevent them from causing any more harm.// Sora looked up at the stars. //Maybe this is what okaasan was talking about?//  
  
~~  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Listen to me. You don't belong here, living your life in the shadows. You are destined for great things, my son. Your place is not here with the Auron Ninja. It is not here with your dying mother..."  
  
~~  
  
Sora snorted. //So are these the great things? Becoming the murderer of my entire family?// He stood up and leapt of the roof. A small amount of energy covered his left hand and foot as he placed them on the side of the building to slow himself down. He slid safely to the floor and broke into a run, not caring who saw him. //You gave birth to a heartless demon, okaasan...//  
  
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Keitaro sat at his desk, studying. It was getting late, but he was used to the lack of sleep now. //Let's see now... Math... oh, forget it! I've been at this for seven hours!//  
  
Life for Urashima Keitaro had been quite stressful as of late. He had the practice exam coming up in a month, Haruka hadn't been around lately so he had clean the teashop once a week, and his son coming home just complicated things even more. //Damn it... I didn't think he was actually going to try to kill her!// he thought.  
  
What really bothered him was that Sora had planned it out perfectly, putting Keitaro in a position where he couldn't intervene. Sure, the child shook his head and told him it was a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, but Keitaro could see he was lying. It was rather unnerving, to say the least. Sora had KNOWN that he was going to volunteer to fight against him, and he KNEW that injuring him would send all of the girls (except for Motoko) to his aid. And he knew that he was stronger than the swordswoman. //So now I know why he was practicing with her...// Keitaro thought blandly. He only watched the girls for week and he could already pick up their behavioral patterns. //Well, that is the Way of the Ninja. Always watching. Always waiting. Then they strike with deadly force and precision, vanishing into the night and only leaving a dead body in their wake.//  
  
Keitaro growled in frustration. //How did I miss this?// he thought. //Maybe I AM stupid, like Naru-chan says... Let's just hope Sora doesn't try anything else like this. I don't think Sora will miss twice.// Keitaro picked his book back up. //I can't believe it. My own son has outsmarted me...//  
  
Aside from the obvious trouble, the girls were also acting rather strangely towards him as well. Naru had seemed oddly accommodating during the time of his injury, opting to avoid hitting him in the head or the right shoulder, and not sending him flying through walls and such. //Better watch out,// Keitaro snorted, //She might actually stop hitting you at all!// Keitaro sighed. He doesn't understand girls, and he won't ever by his estimation.  
  
Motoko was the largest problem, though. He wasn't sure why, but convincing the young samurai to refrain from stabbing herself in the throat proved to be quite difficult. He couldn't leave the girl alone for five minutes without having to force some sharp object from her grasp. Keitaro had even taken to sleeping outside of her in a sleeping bag.  
  
Keitaro looked up from his textbook abruptly. //Wait a minute...// He thought to himself. //Where the hell is...// "Motoko-chan! Motoko-chan, don't do it!!!" he hollered as he bolted from the room.  
  
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Sora stood sat on a park bench, weighing the pros and cons of sleeping there that night. He didn't really want to return to the inn, but he also didn't want to sleep outside if there was a better alternative. //Hah! Going back there is the BETTER alternative?// he thought lightly. While he was still thinking, he felt a presence at his back.  
  
Turning slightly, he could see a shadow standing beside the bench. The figure was feminine, about a foot taller than him, and her green eyes were sharp and piercing. "I'm honored," Sora said, "It seems they have sent a kunoichi after me."  
  
"Don't laugh, little Bandit," the ninja said, standing up a bit straighter. "I've come to deliver a message. A mission statement from my clan."  
  
"I'm pretty sure I'm not in your clan," Sora replied, not looking at the girl.  
  
"I know this, but we would urge you to take on this offer. It's rather interesting," she said.  
  
"I remember my mother telling me never to trust the kunoichi. And I'm inclined to agree, frankly." Sora stood up to leave, but froze when he felt the girl moving. Turning his head, he could see that she had come a bit closer, but her hands remained at her sides.  
  
"Come on, little Bandit, I know you'll be interested once you find out who the target is," she responded.  
  
Sora turned fully to look at the girl, and something in her eyes grabbed his attention. //I'm going to hate myself for this...// "Who?"  
  
"Auron Koji," she said smiling.  
  
Sora narrowed his eyes. "Goodbye," he said dismissively.  
  
He turned his head away, but he could feel the girl coming closer again. "I am Fujita Minako of the Kato ninja."  
  
Sora shook his head. "Now I'm really confused... I thought the Kato were on good terms with the Auron ninja."  
  
"We are," Minako said easily. "But Koji has something up his sleeve and our clan's leaders see him as a potential threat."  
  
"Like what? What can Koji do that is a threat to the Kato?" Sora asked, turning around. "Our clan is dead."  
  
"That's were you are wrong, little Bandit," She said, wagging a finger. "The Auron clan is still alive. And they seek to revive the 'Dark Fire'."  
  
"What does that have to do with Koji and I?" Sora asked.  
  
Minako laughed. It was a rather light sound, so light that Sora didn't really know she was laughing until he saw her shoulders shaking. "Come on, Sora, the 'Dark Fire' cannot exist without the Auron. Your clan created the art form, and made it famous. The Kato will be unable to carry out the legacy without your support."  
  
Sora snorted, "So why kill Koji? It doesn't make any sense."  
  
"Like I said earlier, Koji is not very trustworthy," the girl replied as she strode towards Sora. "We can't carry out the assassination ourselves, or we'll destroy any chance of a treaty once the Auron revive."  
  
"So you use me? I'm out to destroy the 'Dark Fire'. What makes me anymore trustworthy than Koji?" Sora asked, rising from the bench.  
  
"Because we know you'll be going after Koji and you won't discard a lead such as this," Minako said smiling.  
  
Sora seemed to consider this for a little bit, keeping his back to the girl. //So, in other words, you know you can control me? Damn it... I've been outmaneuvered...// "Show me your face," Sora said finally.  
  
Minako took a step back. "Huh?" she asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"Show me your face, I said," Sora replied softly. "If this is a trap of some sort, you'll be the first person I come after."  
  
Minako merely nodded and removed her mask. She looked to be about 19 or so, a pretty woman with soft features and green hair. Sora thought he recognized her, or that she looked like someone he knew, but he couldn't quite place it. She was smiling easily at the moment, though it made Sora's hair stand on edge. //Good,// Sora thought. //That'll make her easier to find.//  
  
"Okay," she said as she put her mask back on. "Let's go."  
  
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Aoyama Motoko sat in her room, watching Keitaro sleep on her floor. It seems that he hasn't been getting much sleep recently, trying to cheer the samurai girl up. //Why does he bother?// she thought. //I'm useless. My only real accomplishment in life was my ability with a sword, and I was defeated by an unarmed child.//  
  
Sighing, Motoko picked up the sleeping Keitaro and set him outside the door. She knew that the other girls would get the wrong idea and cause him more undue harm. //This man must be crazy... All I've ever done to him the entire time he has been staying here is beat him up. Now he's putting himself through more discomfort just to help me.// Motoko threw a sheet over his sleeping form and closed the door to her room. Keitaro had already confiscated everything of hers that was sharp (even her pencils and pens), and he made sure there was nothing she could strangle herself with. Finally, he bolted the window shut, and he stayed with her the entire day.  
  
Motoko moved through her room slowly, intending to prepare for bed, when she heard a knock at the door. //That must be Suu-chan,// she thought. "Enter," she said, and sure enough, the small inventor came through the door. The girl looked rather solemn at the moment, which was very unusual for her. Motoko was beginning to get used to it by now. Suu seemed to be decidedly gloomy for the last two weeks, opting to spend more time alone in her room. //Damn you, Sora...// she thought angrily. //You've even managed to make Suu-chan, sad!// she hit the floor in frustration. //But what can I do? I was completely overpowered...//  
  
"What's wrong, Suu-chan?" Motoko asked, while giving the young girl a hug.  
  
"Nothing really..." she said. The sat there silently for a moment, neither one really knowing what to say next. Finally Suu spoke up. "Why do you and Bandit hate each other?"  
  
Motoko looked away for a moment, lost in thought. "Well," she began. "It's very complicated. The samurai and ninja have never liked each other, causing many deaths throughout history. Our clans merely continued this feud, and it will continue even here. Both of our clans have taken away someone very important to the other."  
  
"I know all of that..." Suu replied. "But why do you hate EACH OTHER? You didn't kill Sora's father and he didn't kill Jeros..."  
  
Motoko sighed. "That's a good question, Suu-chan. Sometimes when people are hurt deeply, they look to lash out at others so they can feel some brief comfort."  
  
"Well, that's wrong! You shouldn't fight just for that!" Suu said standing up.  
  
"I know, Suu-chan," Motoko replied. "I know..." Motoko looked back at the girl. "Now sit back down, we need to get ready for bed."  
  
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"Well, here we are," Minako announced. Sora looked around. They were somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo, standing in front of what appeared to be a military base. Sora's eyes flashed red as he preformed a dash towards the entrance of the compound. He pressed his hands against the wall, his dark energy flowing from his fingertip, enabling him to climb.  
  
Once he was on top, he looked down to Minako and gave her an 'all clear' sign with his hand. The girl followed him up the wall as Sora leapt off the other side and broke into a run. He stopped behind a parked truck and listened to two MP's talking on the other side. Minako jumped up to the top of the bus and laid flat against it. Sliding slowly along her belly, she peeked over the edge. Using a series of hand signals, she relayed the positions of the two guards. Sora nodded and prepared to attack. On some unspoken cue, both ninjas attacked at the same time, knocking both of the guards out before they could make a sound.  
  
Catching the unconscious guards before they hit the floor, Sora and Minako nodded to each other. They dragged them into the back of the truck and change the frequencies on the radios so the other guards could contact them.  
  
Finally reaching the inner gate, the two ninjas paused to find a way in. After a few minutes of watching, it became apparent that they were going to have to split up if they were going to enter undetected. 'Don't kill anybody,' Sora said, using his hand to get the point across. 'I don't want Koji to become suspicious and leave.'  
  
'Understood,' Minako signed back.  
  
As she left, Sora sighed in relief. //Good thing the Auron and the Kato use the same hand signals.// Sora's eyes turned red as he sprinted for the inner gate at full speed, avoiding the searchlights and sticking to the shadows.  
  
When he got within fifty feet of the inner gate, Sora immediately turned back to normal and checked his speed. He ran silently, bypassing a few guards without incident. Finally, he discovered a suitable hiding place behind a metal crate. Sliding his body to the edge, Sora listened carefully for any sign of activity. Noting that the coast was clear, he took a quick peek around the corner. He then made his hand signals, knowing that Minako was watching. 'Okay, at least thirty MP's. Twenty covering the middle, five on the right and five on the left. They're pretty well armed, each carrying assault rifles and grenades. I just spotted two long riflemen. Looks like they have a view of at least two and a half miles from where they are, but they can't see in the dark. Use this to your advantage.' Sora took another quick peek. 'Alright, I see the front gate, obviously. If you take that approach, then you can probably make it when they are shifting around. They only have about five MP's watching the gate when the other guards make their rounds.'  
  
Sora could feel a rush of energy blow by him. Turning quickly, he watched in astonishment as Minako slipped by the guards just as they were changing positions. Not a single one even noticed the fact that the girl had ran right by them. //Whoa... that girl is crazy...// he thought, not really expecting the girl to take such a foolhardy route. Sora shrugged. //Whatever works...//  
  
Scanning the gate again, Sora began to search for his own way in. Skipping over the main gate (he wasn't even going to THINK about trying that), he scanned around the upper and lower areas of the gate. Then he spotted it.  
  
In a darkened area on the upper level was a vent shaft about ten feet of the ground. It wasn't very well guarded, probably because the MP's thought it was inaccessible. //If I can make it there without having to hurt anybody, I should be in good shape.//  
  
Sora took one last glance around the corner, then made a run for the wall on the left. He stopped at the bottom of the staircase pressing his back to the wall and listening to the footsteps above. One set was moving in between the stairs and some point midway through the walkway while the other on covered the rest of the walk. //Damn it...// he thought to himself. //They've got the vent covered from the stairs and I can't knock out or kill anyone or Koji will know I've found him...//  
  
Suddenly, inspiration hit and Sora moved slightly up the stairs. Then he press turned and knelt, preparing to flee quickly, his whole body going rigid and his eyes turning red. //I hope this works...// Sora then raised his arm slowly, a small ball of energy appearing in his hand. Het set it down carefully and ran. The blast small ball exploded, making a bright flash and a loud sound, but doing no damage to the surrounding area.  
  
Everything happened in a blur. Both MP's on the walkway and any one in earshot rushed the staircase, Sora bolted around them leaping high into the air and landing on the walkway after flipping over the railing. Spotting the vent he climbed up and removed it carefully, making sure to replace it when he was all the way through. Getting a goo distance away, Sora allowed himself a (quiet) sigh of relief. //And I called Minako-san foolhardy...// Sora shook his head and proceeded onwards.  
  
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Keitaro sat in his room, trying hard to study. //Why can't I just forget him!? Bandit is FINE! It's the city I should worried about...// He had woke up in the hallway about an hour earlier and saw Suu sleeping with Motoko, so he assumed that the samurai girl wouldn't try to kill herself again until morning came.  
  
//Now, when will Bandit be getting back? It's almost 4:00 a.m. Usually he tries to make it back home in time for training in the morning.// Keitaro stared blankly at a problem, working it out slowly. //Could something have happened? I don't feel his energy...// Sighing, Keitaro picked up his book and went for the roof. //I'll just wait till he gets back and then I'll break of his legs...//  
  
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Sora crawled through the vents for what felt like an hour, wandering around the compound. Now traveling through the dark, he bumped into something warm. "Hey, watch it," she said quietly.  
  
"Minako-san?" Sora asked.  
  
"Who else could it be, baka?" she replied, nursing a sore spot on her head. "I've found Koji. Follow me."  
  
Sora watched the girl go, weighing the pros and cons of following her. Shrugging, he shuffled after her, making sure that he could get to his knife if he need it.  
  
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Keitaro sat on the roof of the Hinata-sou, waiting for his son to make an appearance. He had long since decided that he would slug the boy outright. Now he was merely pondering HOW he was going to hit him.  
  
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"As you can see," Minako started, "The officer barrack are kept in good lighting and are kept out in the open. MP's are crawling through the area, and no doubt Koji is keeping a very close eye on his surroundings..."  
  
Sora looked around. What Minako said was true, and it was quite clear that they wouldn't be able to advance any further without alerting anybody. "What we need is a plan."  
  
"No, you see, THAT is where we have some confusion. What YOU need is a plan. I will accompany you for one week, and one week only so you can scout out this place. At the end of the week, you will attack as you see fit. When the deed is done you will come with me to Kyoto and report to my superiors for payment. Do we have an agreement?"  
  
Sora hesitated. He couldn't help but feel like he was selling his soul to the devil. //There's always a catch... but I can't possibly back out now. If I don't accept this mission I'll make an enemy out of the Kato...// "Okay, I accept your terms... Koji will be dead within two weeks."  
  
Minako smiled openly at this. "Good."  
  
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A/N: Jesus, I'm finally finished! And I just finished school as well, so these updates shouldn't take this long anymore. Sorry if I've been slow on updating. I won't sit here and bore you to death with excuses either, so I'll see you all next time. -Stizzo 


	7. Dark Fire: Repair

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A/N: Okay, you see the summary? I changed it to one that actually tells people about the story, and it should stay that way because the other ones were rather confusing. I guess this is also easier since I won't have to change it every time I update.  
  
You remember what I said at the end of the last chapter about updating faster? Well, it was a lie. I have very little time and energy after wrestling camp, so the going'll be slow. Real slow. Sorry, I'm a lazy bastard, and I know it's annoying when you have to wait for months to get the new chapter of a fic.  
  
Okay, now on to business. I do not own Love Hina. If I said I did I'm pretty sure some Japanese soldiers would zip line into my house and shove a rifle up my ass. Thank you Patron Angel Tabris, Ee-Zee, Logan Griffith, and Leutan of the Drake for leaving comments last chapter. Now for you guys who had questions.  
  
Ee-Zee - You're crazy, man. But you're related to me, so I guess that's understandable. Now, about Koji having MP's all around him. Ninja require day jobs so they can appear to be normal people. Koji managed to become a high-ranking officer in the military. Oh and you think you got the looks in our family? I feel sorry for our children then.  
  
Patron Angel Tabris - Yeah, I'm still alive (barely). Sorry about the wait. Motoko's current funk is a result of both the defeat and finding out about Jeros. I thought that Sora just beating her would've resulted in anger, not depression, so I decided to make something that would REALLY hurt.  
  
Leutan of the Drake - Don't worry about reviewing late. Thanks to the magic of computers I can merely add your name to the list of reviewers and put a reply in without any trouble. Okay, I kind of (read: completely) forgot about the other tenants last chapter, but they're in this one for sure. I'm pretty sure I can still add their reactions to Sora. Minako will be around... Frankly, I have no clue where the Hinata is located. I guess it is in a suburb of Tokyo so it could be like a 45 minute drive or something. Keitaro won't actually hit the boy, it was a joke. He had decided he was going to hit him, but he'll lose his nerve and let his son go with a lecture. About monkeys playing crazy 8's... well, I suppose it depends on the type of monkey, really. I happen to find chimpanzees hilarious.  
  
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Pride and Honor: Chapter 06 - Dark Fire ~ Repair  
  
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Summary:  
  
Urashima Sora has found his brother, Koji, and is preparing to finish him off and leave Tokyo for good. Meanwhile, the residents of the Hinata-sou are trying to move on after the incident two weeks ago.  
  
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Urashima Sora stood outside of Aoyama Motoko's room nervously. Keitaro hadn't been happy when he returned home about a half hour ago. He was waiting in the lobby, drinking some hot chocolate.  
  
"Do you know what time it is?" Keitaro had asked Sora icily as he came through the door. Then his eyes went to the figure behind him and nearly began shouting, but stopped himself and merely went to his room to sleep.  
  
Keitaro had been on edge for the past two weeks, and with the normal pressures of studying and running an inn he was near the breaking point. //I have to try and help him, or he'll go crazy...// Sora thought to himself. That was why he was now standing in front of Motoko's room, weighing the pros and cons of knocking. It was about 6:00 a.m. so he knew the samurai girl would be up, so there were no worries from that end. He just had absolutely no clue what to say.  
  
In fact, Sora didn't really why he felt obligated to help anybody at the inn. He knew he'd either be dead in a week or leaving for Kyoto, so none of this would really affect him. //This isn't my problem...//  
  
But he couldn't help but feel guilty. If he had never arrived the girls of the Hinata would have never known anything about the 'Dark Fire'. Painful memories would be allowed to fade. And good memories would have been allowed to be left intact, not horribly marred like Sora had done with Jeros' memory. His eyes narrowed. //The bastard deserves it... but I used it to hurt someone that really wasn't involved. I'm being so stupid! Why did I make a new enemy when I could've just left her alone?//  
  
Sora sighed and walked away from her door. //I'll talk to her later...// he thought, yawning. //I need to sleep...//  
  
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Maehara Shinobu yawned as she exited her room, stretching her small body out. //Okay, I should start breakfast and then I need to collect the laundry... what?// Opening an eye, she saw a decidedly tired looking Sora walking past her. He stopped, bowed, and grumbled "Ohayo, Maehara-san."  
  
Shinobu mumbled a reply, and began walking towards the kitchen. It seemed that Sora was heading the same direction, because he continued to amble on right in front of her. Finally, they reached the living room and Sora unceremoniously plopped himself down onto the couch and fell asleep.  
  
Shinobu stared at the boy for a second, slightly confused. //Why doesn't he just sleep in his room?// she thought. She didn't want to talk to the boy, but her curiosity began to get the better of her. Just as she began to speak, another person entered the room.  
  
"So, there you are. I've been wondering where you got to," an unfamiliar voice said. Shinobu's eye's widened and she spun around quickly. The speaker was a green-haired woman of about 19 years. She was carrying a bag, full of clothes Shinobu assumed. She had a slightly annoyed look on her face. "Do you always disappear like that?"  
  
"I'm a ninja, what'd you expect?" Sora groaned with an arm draped over his eyes. "What do you want?"  
  
"Well, I don't know where your room is," She said. "And I don't cherish the thought of wandering into other peoples rooms."  
  
"Third floor, all the way down on the left," Sora yawned. "Or maybe it's on the right. I can't remember right now."  
  
"Umm... my room is on the right..." Shinobu piped up.  
  
"It's on the left," Sora turned over. "Good night, or whatever."  
  
Nobody moved for a moment as Shinobu nervously regarded the stranger in front of her. The woman looked down at Sora with expectancy. It quickly turned into irritation as it became apparent that the boy was actually asleep. "Bandit!" she snapped.  
  
The boy turned over slightly. "What?" he asked.  
  
"Where are your manners? Introduce me to your friend," she rolled her eyes. "I'm sure your mother taught you better."  
  
"She isn't my friend," Sora replied easily.  
  
"Well, I guess not," the woman replied as Shinobu narrowed her eyes and turned to leave. "Wait, don't go," she called out to the younger girl. She moved in front of Shinobu, blocking her path. Bowing quickly, she introduced herself. "I am Fujita Minako, a member of the Kato ninja."  
  
Shinobu bowed back uneasily, "I'm Maehara Shinobu." //Great, another ninja...// "Um... I-I need to cook breakfast now..." she stammered as she hastily exited the room.  
  
Minako sweatdropped slightly as she watched the door close. She turned to Sora. "She's always like that," he said, answering her unspoken question.  
  
Minako nodded in understanding and left the room. "Fine, have a nice nap." Sora silently thanked all things divine and promptly passed out. He estimated it was about 6:45 a.m.  
  
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Safely inside the kitchen Shinobu allowed the information she had just received sink in. There was a girl ninja staying at the Hinata-sou, and she seemed to know Sora. //Like one wasn't enough. Why is she here anyway? Their must be a purpose...//  
  
Starting the stove, Shinobu also began to think about what Sora had said earlier. //So I'm not his friend... humph! Boys!// She rolled her eyes. //I know we're not on friendly terms, but he shouldn't be happy about it!//  
  
She began to gather her materials, opening and closing shelves a bit rougher than necessary. //What's his problem, anyway? If he doesn't want to be here so badly, why not leave? We don't want him here...//  
  
//Is he evil, or is it his power taking control? He has the kanji "evil" etched into his hand and is very cold most of the time, but he was also very nice to me.// Shinobu hands were on auto-pilot as she began to prepare the meal. //I didn't think he was so just two weeks ago... I even liked him.// Shinobu chuckled. //He didn't seem like a hardened warrior when he was helping me with cooking, or just talking.//  
  
Shinobu sighed shaking her stiff fingers out. //But he tried to KILL Motoko-sempai...// Shaking her head, she resumed her work. //Who is the real Urashima Sora?//  
  
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At 7:00 a.m. Konno Mitsune and Narusegawa Naru entered the living room to find a sleeping boy on the couch. Narrowing her eyes slightly, Mitsune approached him quietly. Her opinion of the boy was quite low right now, to say the least. //Ever since he's arrived, everyone at the inn has been rather depressed. I don't even know HOW he managed to make Suu-chan sad...// Mitsune's general mood tends to revolved around the moods of her fellow housemates. Of course she will always put on a happy face and joke around, but the simple truth was that when ever her friends were unhappy, she was unhappy as well. And right now, all of her friends were more than unhappy. Very unhappy, in fact.  
  
Naru, on the other hand wasn't depressed, but angry. //That ungrateful little bastard!// she thought bitterly. //I can't believe he would actually attack his father and Motoko-chan after we allowed him to stay here! Keitaro had been nice enough to take care of him after his parents died... I think... Wait, that actually doesn't make much sense. Why didn't Sora come here with Keitaro if he was his son?// Naru shook herself. //Forget it, I don't care anymore. I just want this kid out of the inn and as far away as possible!//  
  
Of course, forcefully evicting the Sora was unlikely. He was obviously a lot stronger than all of them, and more resourceful than he looked. After all, he had managed to trick them all and get Motoko all by herself. Well, almost.  
  
Standing over the prone boy, Mitsune leaned close to his face, pausing for a moment to make sure that he was actually asleep. Then she drew in a deep breath...  
  
And screamed at the top of her lungs.  
  
Sora sprung straight up, leaping high into the air and literally attaching himself to the ceiling, energy from his hands and feet keeping him in place. His eyes searched the room frantically. When he saw Mitsune standing next to the couch with Naru a few feet away giggling, it became painfully obvious what was happening.  
  
"Oh, did we startle you?" Naru said as Mitsune laughed. "Gomen Nasai, I couldn't help myself. I saw the UGLIEST little bug and just started screaming..."  
  
Allowing the energy to fizzle away, Sora dropped to the floor, landing easily on his feet. His normally blank features were decidedly tired- looking, and he was blushing slightly. //They'll pay for that...// He bowed politely, though, making sure to wipe any anger or embarrassment from his face. "Ohayo, Konno-san," said softly. Then he bowed to Naru. "Ohayo, Narusegawa-san. Is there something you ladies need?"  
  
"Yes, actually. Your father wants you to polish the second and third floors since you didn't do them yesterday," Naru replied.  
  
"Did he happen to mention anywhere in those instructions when I'm supposed to sleep?" Sora asked, yawning.  
  
"No."  
  
Sora lowered his eyes and sighed. "Figures," he mumbled.  
  
"I'm not the person you should be complaining to," Naru shrugged. "If you have something to say, you should just talk to Keitaro, but he wasn't in a very good mood when I saw him..."  
  
Naru could see the boy wince slightly when he heard this. "No, that's okay... I'll get to work."  
  
"Hm..." Mitsune hummed when Sora left the room, sleepily dragging his feet. "I bet that kid just got back here. And with the way he trains, I bet he's VERY tired."  
  
Naru's eyes widened slightly as she began to pick up on what her friend was insinuating. "Yup, he's definitely exhausted. And did you see the way he winced when I mentioned his father being angry."  
  
"I think our little ninja is, dare I say, AFRAID of his dad. And I think I have a plan..."  
  
The two friends smiled at each other as they left the room.  
  
========================================================================  
  
//Ugh... I'm tired...// Sora yawned as he went up to the second floor, bucket and rags in hand. //Well, if I finish this quickly, I can find a place to hide and get back to sleep...//  
  
As he spotted Aoyama Motoko exiting her room with Koalla Suu. Sora yawned as he bowed to them. "Ohayo, ladies."  
  
"Ohayo, Bandit," Suu responded uncertainly.  
  
"Ohayo, Urashima-kun," Motoko replied, bowing respectfully.  
  
This almost knocked Sora over. His eyes widened slightly as he stood on the tips of his toes, attempting to get a better look at the despondent warrior. "Wait a minute, what did you just call me?"  
  
"That is what your name is, ne? Or would you prefer that I call you 'Bandit' like most of the other residents?" Motoko asked.  
  
Sora immediately put a hand to her forehead. "Have you, by any chance, been using a powerful narcotic in your latest attempt to kill yourself?"  
  
"No, I am no longer trying to commit seppuku and I would not resort to drugs even if I was," Motoko replied evenly.  
  
//THIS is awkward... why is she acting like this? Her condition is getting odder and odder as time goes on. I need to do something about her.// Sora shrugged, "Call me what you like. But can I ask you something?"  
  
"What is it?" Motoko asked, puzzled.  
  
"Since you're such a wuss now, can I call you 'Momo-chan'?" Motoko's eye's widened slightly and Suu gasped, edging a bit closer to Motoko and grasped her hand in an effort to calm her.  
  
Motoko quickly steel herself and forced herself to speak calmly. "Why do you ask that, Urashima-kun?"  
  
"Well, it just seems a little disrespectful to the Aoyama family line to pin its name to a defeated shell such as yourself, don't you agree?" Sora turned to leave, but watched the samurai out of the corner of his eye. He saw her eye twitch and a vein bulge in her forehead.  
  
//She won't be let me leave like that. The fight will hop right back in her soon...// Sora thought triumphantly, as he turned to leave. "Call me what you like..." he heard her reply from behind him.  
  
Sora stopped dead, his eyes widening again. "So, you really are pathetic," Sora said coldly, turning his head away. "I remember hearing otousan say that he trains on the roof to relieve stress, and with the amount that's been put on him recently I bet he'll be there all day. He might even use his trance techniques..." Then he walked away, leaving the samurai to mull over what he just said.  
  
Motoko could feel Suu latch on to her back as she began walking again. //He wants Urashima to teach me the trance... But why, so I'll kill him? Is he trying to cheer me up?// Motoko frowned and shook her head. //No, he probably has something up his sleeve. I don't know what it is yet, but I'll need to stay sharp. For now, I'll play his game...//  
  
"Um... Motoko-chan, are you listening to me?" Suu's voice broke through Motoko's train of thought. "Are you all right?"  
  
"Uh... fine! What is it you were saying?" Motoko asked.  
  
"Well..." Suu began, smiling, "I was just wondering if I could call you 'Momo-chan' too!"  
  
Motoko face-faulted, sighing tiredly. "Of course, Suu-chan," she mumbled. //THIS is embarrassing...//  
  
========================================================================  
  
"Okay, I think I'm finally done," Sora sighed. He was kneeling on the floor buffing the floor. Doing both floors took at least two and a half hours by his estimate. The sun had risen, its golden light shining off the floor.  
  
Throwing the rag into the bucket, Sora sat down, leaning back on his hands and took a deep breath. Looking to his left he saw three birds on the banister, chirping happily as they moved around and flapped their wings. It seemed that either the tenants of the Hinata-sou had left, or they were merely avoiding him. He assumed it was the latter, but that didn't really bother him.  
  
//How long has it been since I've had a home?// Sora thought to himself. Then Sora snorted bitterly. //This isn't my home... The residents hate me, and I don't really blame them. I just hope that I can finish this job and return to Kyoto...//  
  
//Kyoto... my old friends... I wonder if they are still alive? And if they are, do they remember me?// Sora looked to the sky, as if it could possibly provide him an answer. He knew that the few friends he made in the Auron clan were either dead or trying to kill him, but it would but their were a few others...  
  
//Forget it, I'm better off not knowing. I can't go look for them... its best if they forget I ever existed...// Sora looked back at the birds, suddenly feeling a great urge to be alone. "Get out of here!" he spat angrily. "GO!"  
  
The birds flew off quickly, chirping loudly. //That's it... Run! Leave me alone! Be afraid! ...everyone else is...// Sora crossed his legs and propped his elbows on his knees. Sighing again he started to draw small circles on the ground. //Okaasan... I don't think I can do it anymore... I can't continue fighting like this! I want to die...//  
  
~~  
  
"Be strong, Sora..."  
  
"Okaasan?"  
  
"..."  
  
"...Okaasan...?"  
  
"..."  
  
"OKAASAN!!!"  
  
"...But... where do I belong?"  
  
~~  
  
//I don't have any strength left!// Sora hit the floor in frustration. //I can't live among other human beings, especially people as nice as the girls here...// He looked at his left hand and reluctantly channelled energy through it, making the kanji 'evil' appear on it clearly. //This symbol assures that.//  
  
"So, you can't even stand the company of birds I see..." A female voice rang out, he recongnized it as Minako, and was surprised to see her sitting right next to him. "You always were a loner," she said smiling.  
  
//I can't believe I didn't notice her. I must be more tired than I thought.// "How do you know that?" he asked, shortly.  
  
Minako shrugged, "I read the full psychological report on you before coming out here. It said that you had very few friends and rarely even spoke to THEM." Minako looked at stood up. "It also said that you rarely speak or show expressions on your face..."  
  
"Bullshit. You might have read that report, but you must have known me at some point," Sora replied. Then he leaned in a bit closer, studying the girl's face carefully.  
  
Minako leaned away, "A-Uhh... what are you doing, little Bandit?"  
  
Realization hit right then and there. //I only know a few people that call me that...// Sora looked away, a small smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Now I remember. How's your little sister?"  
  
Minako shook her head. "Oneechan? She's a little upset, actually. She found out that you've been alive all this time and you never tried to contact her."  
  
"She's always a little upset, ne? Well, she'll get over it," Sora rolled his eyes. Then he rose, dusting himself off. "Do me a favor, please? When this mission is over can you tell her I'm dead?"  
  
"She actually lives around here, you know? You can tell her that yourself," Minako replied. Sora gave her a level look, but she merely smiled back at him. "Oh yeah," Minako said, rising as well, "I want you to introduce me to your friends."  
  
"They aren't my friends. They don't like demons," Sora said as he walked off.  
  
Minako stood alone in the hallway, watching the boy's departing back. Then she shook her head. "You don't like killing, do you?"  
  
"I'm not sure anymore," Sora replied. Then he disappeared down the stairs.  
  
Minako sighed as she started heading for the flat roof. "Poor kid..." she muttered.  
  
========================================================================  
  
Urashima Keitaro stood on the flat roof slowly working through his kata. He hadn't gotten much sleep, but he didn't really feel tired. In fact, he was rather anxious at the moment. //Okay, let see if I remember this one... Punch, punch, kick, turn, punch, backwards kick, forward knee, pivot, high kick...// "GOOD MORNING!!!" //...huh?//  
  
Keitaro let out a surprised "oof!" as he took a jump kick to the face. Suu completed her attack, flipped, and landed easily. She held her arms up and posed as if an Olympic gymnast. Keitaro smiled and went back to his kata. "Hello there, Suu-chan. What can I do for you?"  
  
"Actually, Momo-chan wants to ask something of you!" Suu replied happily.  
  
//Momo-chan...?// Keitaro was about to ask, but he noted Motoko's eye twitching and decided against it. "Ohayo, Motoko-chan, what can I do for you? And why are you blushing...?"  
  
Motoko's eye began twitching a bit more and Keitaro was sure he heard growling. "Don't get the wrong idea, Urashima," she said, warningly. //Ugh, I CAN'T believe I'm asking this perverted baka for help! Just what have I sunk to!?//  
  
Motoko took a deep breath and forced her eye to stop twitching. //I must be polite about this. I need some help, even if it must come from this disgusting man...// Motoko looked back up at the manager, now watching her curiously. She could see concern etched on his face and that she had his complete attention. Motoko looked away, feeling slightly guilty. //He doesn't deserve my critism. He's been so nice to me, even with all of my unpleasantness. He may be perverted, but he's definetly one of the nicest people I've ever met. And he IS a master fighter... Maybe learning from him won't be so bad...//  
  
"I... uh... I..." Motoko stammered. //I've never been good at asking for help...// She took another deep breath and let it all come out. "Iwantyoutoteachmehowtoutulizethetrance!"  
  
Keitaro arched an eyebrow, looking at the samurai girl staring at him earnestly. The silence last for a few minutes, even Suu remained quiet, anxious to hear what the reply would be. Finally Keitaro scrached the back of his head and smiled. "What?" he said.  
  
Both girls face-faulted, falling over onto the wooden floor. Motoko rose quickly, grabbing Keitaro by the collar. "Please teach me your fighting style! I must become stronger!"  
  
Keitaro stood there, amazed. Here was a girl who had spent the last two weeks sulking and trying to kill herself, and this morning she was asking him to train her. //But what brought about this change? Could it be Sora?// Keitaro then remembered the nickname Suu had used earlier. //Momo- chan... that must've been Sora's work. He must have also suggested to her that she come see me...// "It will be rather different from your other training..."  
  
"How so?" Motoko asked.  
  
"Well, your body is already in very good shape. All you really need to do is learn the trance and even that shouldn't take very long..."  
  
"Yay!" Suu cheered, happily.  
  
Motoko bowed politely. "Thank you very much, Urashima," she said.  
  
"Don't mention it."  
  
========================================================================  
  
A/N: Okay, I think this one's actually pretty short, but like I said earlier, I'm fighting some writer's block. I'm going to try and update again sometime before Sunday, so I'll see you then. --Stizzo 


	8. Dark Fire: Origins

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A/N: Ugh... this is my second go at this chapter since my floppy disk committed suicide. What I did to finally drive the poor thing over the edge, I don't know, but the fact is that the fucking thing is dead. I'm not really in the mood right now to write out a real Author's note, so I'll be quick. (*Sob* I was ALMOST done too...)  
  
Thank you Irusta, Jonathan Shim, and Ghost1 for leaving comments last chapter.  
  
Jonathan Shim - Motoko is going to learn the trance as sort of a desperation move. She knows that the ability gives Sora a big advantage in a fight so she is seeking to even the odds. About the Spiderman thing. well YOU can write the fic if you want, but I think I have enough work as it is.  
  
Ghost1 - Well, glad you liked it. Keitaro's connection to this entire mess is through Sora's mother who taught him how to fight. You'll find out the details in due time, so don't worry about it.  
  
I don't own Love Hina, so don't sue me for this.  
  
============================================================================  
  
Pride and Honor: Chapter 07 - Dark Fire ~ Origins  
  
============================================================================  
  
*BUUUZZZZ!!!*  
  
Urashima Keitaro slapped around for the alarm clock, seeking to cut off the decidedly annoying blare. His hand struck out blindly, encountering nothing but a few books and papers. //Ugh... what the hell...?//  
  
Opening his eyes, he noticed that he wasn't in his bed, but at his kotatsu with books spread out. //Oh yeah... another all-nighter...// he thought groggily. //My sleeping habits are almost worse than Sora's...//  
  
He stood up and stretched out his sore muscles. He had been training with Motoko nearly all day yesterday, only stopping to take care of his duties as manager. Sora had even done most of the work for him. //I think Naru and Kitsune had something to do with that...// That meant studying all night to make up for lost time, but Keitaro would do anything to help Motoko out of her current funk.  
  
//What day is it today? It must be early November by now... That means I have that mock exam in about a month.// He thought. //Where'd I put my calendar...// Scratching his head, Keitaro looked around the room. Books, clothes, papers, discarded ramen cups (between studying, watching Motoko, and watching Sora he hadn't really been able to make it to meals sometimes) and a few other things that he couldn't identify littered the floor but he didn't see his calendar. //My room's gotten really messy... I'll need to clean it-huh?// His eyes rested on his window. Clinging to the walls outside was Sora and Minako. The latter turned towards him and waved, her cheerful "Hi!" being muffled by the glass as she removed her mask. Sora also removed his mask, putting his bandana on.  
  
As soon as the window was open, both ninjas tumbled into the room tiredly. Minako yawned daintily, while Sora looked about ready to collapse. //Where do those two go at night? Sora doesn't normally stay out this late when roof-hopping...//  
  
"So," Keitaro started uncertainly. "Why not use the door?"  
  
Sora gestured to Minako, "It was her idea. Don't look at me."  
  
"I wanted to make sure you couldn't escape," Minako said, pouting. "You didn't even say 'Hello' to me yesterday. Were you planning on ignoring me all week?"  
  
Keitaro laughed nervously. "Of course not! I was just busy yesterday..." he replied uneasily.  
  
Sora rolled his eyes. //So was I, but she was always there to bother me when Narusegawa and Konno were absent...// he sighed sweatdropping. //But I can see your point, though. Minako tends to be a little indecent when in the company of young men. And with the group of girls here at the Hinata...// He watched as Minako slowly advanced on his father. //Shit. Better change the subject...//  
  
"So, I take it Aoyama-san has come to you for training?" he remarked in an off-hand manner.  
  
Keitaro took the hint, replying quickly. "Sure, we were training all day yesterday. That's why I didn't have any time to chat. I assume you had something to do with this?" he said, putting some distance between him and Minako, who looked rather amused.  
  
"I just made her a little angry and gave her a rather obvious way out of her current problem," Sora shrugged. "Seriously, that girl needs to relax."  
  
"She's doing well. In fact, I think she'll be able to select her own symbol today..." Keitaro said, absently rubbing his right hand. Sora looked down at his left. //Well, well, Aoyama-san... Seems I underestimated you, in spite of my careful observation...//  
  
"At this rate, she'll be able to use a low-level Trance soon," Sora said snapping out of his current train of thought.  
  
"And she seemed rather calm after our training session. So I guess I'll let you off the hook, since she DID try to kill you when you first arrived," Keitaro said. "But I doubt anyone else will forgive you that easily. The girls here have a knack for ignoring the male side of the story. And when Motoko finally DOES learn how to use her Trance abilities... woo..." Keitaro shook his head. "I'm going to be extra careful whenever I go to clean the hot springs from now on..."  
  
"It doesn't matter. If I am unable to defend myself against Aoyama-san then its best that she just kill me, because I wouldn't stand a chance against Yoshiro-san, or Koji for that matter," Sora replied.  
  
"So, why exactly are you teaching her this technique in the first place?" Minako asked. "If the stories Sora has told me is any indication it sounds rather suicidal..."  
  
"We are trying to cheer her up," Keitaro shrugged. "But I know that I'll be regretting this sometime in the near future."  
  
Sora yawned. "Well, I'm going now," he announced, stretching his small body out.  
  
"Not yet," Keitaro said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Go get Motoko- chan and meet me up on the flat roof."  
  
Sora's eyes narrowed slightly. "What? You're starting her training NOW?" He looked over at the alarm clock. "It's nearly 6 a.m. right now. Doesn't she have to be in school by 8 o'clock?"  
  
"All we're going to do is have her select a symbol and go over the basics for a Trance. All that will take place in our minds where time passes at a faster pace than here. It should only take about ten minutes," Keitaro replied easily.  
  
"But... but what if she's injured or something? The feedback from her spiritual body will probably very strong. There's no way she could make it through a school day," Sora pleaded.  
  
"That's why YOU'RE going to be there with me. Strength in the spirit world is measured solely on ki and yours is very strong. Much stronger than mine, in fact," Keitaro eyed his son suspiciously. "I don't think you're actually concerned for Motoko-chan's safety, though."  
  
"Well I am, to some extent, but I also would like to go to sleep," Sora replied.  
  
"Heh... just like you..." Keitaro said, smiling.  
  
"Oh, spare me," Sora retorted, rolling his eyes. "I've slept a total of twenty-five minutes in three days!"  
  
"I know, I know, but I need you to come with me," Keitaro said, pushing Sora out of the door. "Now go and get Motoko-chan."  
  
"But-" Sora yelped as the door slid shut. Keitaro could hear him growl angrily as he left.  
  
//Heh...// Keitaro thought turning away from the door, immediately wishing he hadn't. Minako had used the few moments that he was distracted to press her attack. She now had him trapped against the door, pressing her body gently against his. //Oh no, this is bad... Every time I'm alone in a room with a girl something bad happens and I become Earth's newest satellite...//  
  
"So, I guess this is where we make up for lost time, huh?" Minako said, rubbing herself against him slightly.  
  
Keitaro blushed, trying his hardest not to think about the body parts that were currently pressed against him. //God damn it! I was hoping I would have enough time to politely dismiss myself before she got this close.// "Uh... I gotta get ready."  
  
"Don't let ME stop you. Go ahead and strip," Minako said smiling. "Or do you want me to take MY clothes off first..."  
  
//*BRAIN NO LONGER FUNCTIONING! REPEAT: BRAIN NO LONGER FUNCTIONING...* // Alarms blared inside Keitaro's head, as his mind abandoned him. He could hear himself talking, but he had no clue what he was saying. He bet that Minako didn't either.  
  
"Just relax..." Minako soothed, leaning her head towards Keitaro's.  
  
With no better options at the moment, Keitaro merely closed his eyes and waited for this to be finished.  
  
Then he felt Minako's shoulders shaking crazily. //Huh? Is that supposed to happen.?// Keitaro thought to himself. Curious, he opened an eye slightly. Sure enough, Minako was laughing her ass off. //So, she was just playing with me, as usual...// Keitaro thought to himself, a little angry that he was being toyed with.  
  
Finally, Minako got herself under control, and smiled sweetly at Keitaro. "Just as bashful as ever," she said. "Good to see you haven't changed."  
  
"It seems you haven't changed much either," Keitaro retorted.  
  
"Don't pout, Kei-kun," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "See? You got what you wanted..." But the hapless ronin was no longer with her. His eyes were swirling in their sockets, making it quite obvious that the boy was unconscious. //Geez... you'd think that being surrounded by young girls for a year would help... They must be keeping him at arms length.//  
  
"Otousan," Sora said from the other side of the door, "You were in such a rush to throw me out of the room that you never told me where Aoyama-san's room is..." He slid the door open, which Keitaro was leaning against. With Minako leaning against him he fell to the floor, taking the girl with him. They landed in a heap right at the feet of a wide-eyed Sora. "Y-You know, I-I'll just l-look it up in the d-directory..." he stammered out, backing away quickly.  
  
"Wait, SORA!" Keitaro cried out, tears coming out of his eyes. Sora was gone by this point, though, so his cry fell on deaf ears.  
  
"Well..." Minako said, blushing slightly, "THAT was awkward..."  
  
Keitaro quickly tried to get himself out from under Minako. "Yeah, yeah, very strange! Now let's get untangled before someone-"  
  
"Aaauuu!!"  
  
Keitaro squeezed his eyes shut. //Damn it! That'd be the sound of Shinobu- chan finding her Sempai underneath a woman...// "Wait, it's not what it looks like!"  
  
But just as with Sora, Shinobu was long gone before Keitaro could say anything. //Great, now I'm going to get hurt later... Can this get any worse...?//  
  
"Hey! What the hell is with all of this noise!? Some people are trying to..."  
  
Keitaro kept his eyes closed. He didn't need to see to know who that was. He'd recognize that yelling anywhere...  
  
True to his luck, a fuming Narusegawa Naru was looking through the whole in her floor, staring right at him and Minako.  
  
Minako, feeling in a decidedly playful mood, shot an angry glare at Naru. "Do you mind!? Things were just getting good." She looked back at Keitaro. "Kei-kun... I didn't know you could be so passionate!"  
  
//You know, this would actually be kind of funny if I wasn't about to die...// Keitaro thought, still clenching his eyes tightly.  
  
============================================================================  
  
"Aoyama Motoko... room 302," Sora said, shutting the book. He winced as he heard Naru scream "you PERVERT!!!" and his dad get sent flying through the wall of his room, screaming out to God or whoever might save him. //Damn... that girl's got POWER...// he thought as he ran to the window to check Keitaro's flight path. //That was a good hit, too... She must be really angry.//  
  
//Oh well... looks like I'M going to be giving Aoyama-san her lesson...// he thought, pulling away from the window. He shoved his hands into his pocket and began heading up the stairs. He nearly collided with Shinobu as she dashed down the steps, crying. Sora was about to ask, but decided against it. "Ohayo," he greeted her. She merely nodded in response and continued down the steps.  
  
"Uh... what's wrong?" Sora said, following her. Shinobu merely ignored him and continued walking. "Um... wait a second... I got something to say..."  
  
Shinobu stopped walking, but didn't say anything. "Uh... could you face me please...? I'd rather not talk to your back..."  
  
Shinobu turned slowly, looking rather angry. "Well?" she asked impatiently.  
  
Sora's face fell. //Damn... I've never seen her look at anybody like that...// The girl's eyes were narrowed and she stood with her arms folded across her chest. Then she began to tap her foot.  
  
Kneeling, Sora bowed low, his nose touching the floor. "I apologize for all I've done. I don't really expect you to forgive me, but I want to try to make it up to you," he mumbled. "I'll do anything you ask of me."  
  
Shinobu seemed to consider this a moment before she turned away. "I want you to stay away from me."  
  
Sora felt a slight pain in his chest when heard this. //THAT hurt... but it's understandable.// "Is that all?" Sora asked icily. Things were silent a moment, neither person moving.  
  
"Stand up," Shinobu said quietly. Sora rose from the floor lazily, but his guard was up. //This isn't right...//  
  
Sure enough, Shinobu strode up to him with a level expression on her face. Then she pulled her arm back and hit him hard across the face. Sora's head turned away slightly and he stumbled a bit, not expecting the small girl to strike him.  
  
When he looked back, he was surprised to see Shinobu staring at her hand with tears in her eyes. //What...?// Sora thought to himself, thoroughly confused.  
  
"I... I..." Shinobu sobbed. "I don't understand."  
  
//Uh.// "What don't you understand?" Sora asked.  
  
"Tell me, why..." Shinobu whispered, "...do you like hurting people...?" She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back tears. "I only slapped you and I feel horrible! You deserved it too!" she shouted. "How can you possibly be satisfied after killing someone!?"  
  
Sora's steeled himself yet again. //This is ridiculous...// he thought. He looked back up at Shinobu, meeting her gaze. She looked grim, her eyes red with bags underneath them. The tears in her eyes still haven't fallen, but were threatening to do so. "It is clear to me now. You despise conflict of any sort, be it violent or otherwise," Sora said. "That's why you are always so passive. You always choose the path of least resistance, no matter what happens to you. And you also despise watching conflicts," Sora looked away from the girl a moment. "But I grew up surrounded by conflict. Everybody does. It's the only way to change and grow."  
  
"That isn't true!" Shinobu shouted.  
  
"Oh?" Sora replied, raising an eyebrow. "Name a change that can be brought about without any sort of conflict."  
  
Shinobu pondered this a moment. She then opened her mouth to say something, but shut it, thinking again. //He can't be right...// she thought to herself. "A marriage...?"  
  
"Surely when the couple met they were not ready to be married. One, or the other must be convinced and yield to the will of the mate," Sora countered quickly, rolling his eyes and turning away. "You can argue that this courtship is a conflict of sorts, since two different ideas have clashed, and that is the very definition of a conflict."  
  
Shinobu stared at the boy a moment. "Look at me when you're talking, Urashima," she said. Sora turned around, once again meeting Shinobu's gaze. "Why are you always so negative?"  
  
"I'm not negative," Sora replied. "I just don't lie to make myself feel better." Shinobu looked away, angrily. Sora just shook his head. "There's no point in avoiding it-I would have had to fight Aoyama-san at some point. Something in me just said 'Now is the time,' so I acted."  
  
Shinobu put her head down a moment, letting this sink in. Then she shook her head. "It isn't right..."  
  
"I never said it was, but it's the truth, and that's what you wanted to hear, ne?" Sora said walking up the stairs. "Look, don't try to understand me-It isn't worth it." //I've never seen her THIS angry... I probably hit a sore spot.//  
  
//So, conflict is the only way to change.?// Shinobu thought as she watched him go. //It isn't true... It can't be.//  
  
============================================================================  
  
Narusegawa Naru stood with her fist outstretched, her fist stinging slightly from the impact. //What is wrong with that baka!? Will he EVER learn!?//  
  
//Whoa...// Minako thought, wide-eyed. //I didn't think she could hit that hard!// "Uh... do you always wander in to Keitaro's room and hit him?" Minako shrugged, "I mean, he wasn't even doing anything..."  
  
Naru sniffed at this. "Bullshit! He's lying in the hallway molesting some girl, and you call it nothing?"  
  
"If anything, I was molesting HIM," Minako replied. "But you didn't even wait for an explanation."  
  
"So, are you his old girlfriend or something?" Naru asked tersely.  
  
Minako shook her head. "Kei never had a girlfriend before. He's kind of a loner, like Sora. We were just joking."  
  
Naru rolled her eyes. "You ninja sure tell odd jokes," she said sarcastically. "'Hey, Keitaro! Did you hear the one where I glomp on you like a geisha whore?' Do you consider that entertaining?"  
  
"Well, with HIM..." Minako said dreamily. "Maybe I'll be his first girlfriend..." Naru crossed her arms and started to climb back on the table to return to her room, mumbling darkly. "Unless YOU already claimed him..."  
  
Naru laughed. "That baka and I, one of the brightest minds in Japan, together? You must be joking!"  
  
Minako's eyes narrowed slightly at this comment. "Your right, it would be impossible. Kei-kun couldn't possibly be happy with a violent, brick of a woman such as you."  
  
"...says the ninja assassin..." Naru counters, rolling her eyes.  
  
"And who just sent him into the lower stratosphere?" Minako asked.  
  
"Would you like me to send you after him," Naru threatened, getting off the table.  
  
"I'd like to see you try," Minako said, smiling. Then the door slid open. "Not now, Sora!" She shouted, knowing who it was without having to look.  
  
"I hate to interrupt your fun, but I need Minako to be conscious," Sora sighed.  
  
Minako rounded on Sora, a vein bulging in her forehead. "Are you SERIOUS!? You think that little bitch could beat me!?"  
  
Sora stood under her gaze unflinching. He shrugged, "No. I'm referring to the coma otousan will put you in when he finds out you beat up his girlfriend."  
  
Now it was Naru's turn to be angry. "I'm not some hopeless little girl that has to be saved by that BAKA," Naru seethed. "And I'm NOT his girlfriend!"  
  
Sora sighed again, rolling his eyes. "Whatever. Come with me, Minako."  
  
Naru crossed her arms, not satisfied with his response. "Look, this is none of your business anyway! Why don't you go find a personality or something? We're busy!"  
  
"I'm doing this in your best interests, Narusegawa," Sora shook his head. "Minako is far more powerful than you, as impressive as your strength is. She IS a member of the famed Kato ninja, after all..."  
  
Naru seemed to consider this a moment before crossing her arms again. "Why is it every time I talk to you my urge to kill something rises?"  
  
"I have that effect on people," Sora replied in an off-hand manner. Then he grabbed Minako by the hand and dragged her out of the room. "Have a nice day, Narusegawa-san," he said sliding the door shut.  
  
============================================================================  
  
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*  
  
"Momo-chan? Are you awake?"  
  
Aoyama Motoko cracked an eye open. "Enter," she yawned. Normally, she'd be wide awake at this hour, but her training yesterday with Keitaro took a larger toll on her than she was willing to admit. It wasn't that Keitaro was in better shape than her, but the training program yesterday was entirely ki-based, meaning that she was trying her best to summon energy for the entire day. //I've never tried THAT before... I'm exhausted...//  
  
The door slid open, revealing a tired-looking Sora. He had stopped by his room to change out of his ninja garb (and to drop off Minako), but had no time to actually rest. "I will be instructing you this morning. Otousan would be joining us, but he's currently rebounding off the moon, if my calculations are correct." Sora looked around thoughtfully for a moment. "Hey, where's Suu? I didn't see her yesterday."  
  
"Neither did I," Motoko replied. "I believe she is in her room, creating another one of her mechanical demon turtles..."  
  
============================================================================  
  
Deep inside the dense jungle known as Suu's room, a near-maniacal laugh can be heard.  
  
"This will be the strongest Mecha Tama ever, thanks to the battle data I received from Bandit's fight..."  
  
============================================================================  
  
Sora was leaning against Motoko's door as she got ready for her training. "So, are you tired? I know otousan can be kinda rough..." he called in.  
  
"I'll live," Motoko replied from the other side of her door. "I am used to being fatigued, so don't worry about me." Then the door slid open and Motoko came out fully dressed. "All right, let's go."  
  
"Fine, follow me," Sora said, walking towards the flat roof. "You have gone through the techniques rather quickly, Momo-chan. So today you will select a symbol, just like the one on my left hand."  
  
"So I will have a symbol on my left hand, like you?" Motoko asked. //I didn't think that was a requirement...//  
  
"Well... no," Sora answered. "Chances say your symbol will be on your right hand, unless you're left-handed like me." Sora shrugged, "And hopefully you won't select the symbol 'Evil' like I did."  
  
"I imagine I won't..." Motoko muttered. "But what symbols are there to choose from?"  
  
"Well there is Justice, Evil, Mind, Body, Soul, and Spirit..." Sora answered. "Each of which has their own test to see if you're worthy or not."  
  
"So, if I attain one of these symbols, I will be able to undergo a transformation?" Motoko questioned.  
  
"No," Sora replied easily. "You will still have a bit of work ahead of you. I had my symbol for years before I could use my 'Trance'. But you are older, and your body is much stronger than mine was when I first acquired my symbol. If you work hard, you should be transforming soon."  
  
//Soon...// Motoko thought with a mixture of fear and exhilaration. Then she grabbed Sora's shoulder, stopping him cold. "One more, question: Will I go ballistic when using my 'Trance'?"  
  
Sora smiled at her, but it lacked warmth and feeling. "Well," he started, "It matters what form you choose. Using one of the 'Dark' classes will provide you with a rather large boost in your power, but their might be a slight decline in sanity when using them. These include Evil, Body, and Soul. The others are considered 'Light' classes and are considered to be not as powerful. But these classes don't have any problems with control or other side-effects."  
  
//So... I avoid using Evil, Body, or Soul and I don't turn into a demon?// Motoko thought to herself. //Good. I don't know how I would face my clan if I became one of the foul demons our school seeks to destroy.//  
  
Finally, the two arrived on the flat roof. Sora moved ahead and sat down, cross-legged, and motioned for Motoko to the same. Wordlessly, she walked over and sat in front of the boy.  
  
"Now, close your eyes, please," Sora said, shutting his own. Motoko closed her eyes and relaxed, just as she had during her normal meditation. "Don't attempt to reach out to the void your self," Sora instructed. "Allow me to guide you."  
  
Motoko did as he said, and before long she could feel the outside world slipping away from her.  
  
============================================================================  
  
*Inside the Void*  
  
Motoko looked around her suspiciously. She was standing on some sort of a platform, surrounded by a seemingly endless darkness. Surprisingly, it seemed as if the area around her was well lit. Sora was nowhere to be seen, though.  
  
//Could this be one of his tricks?// Motoko thought, falling into a stance. She didn't have her sword with her, but she knew a pretty good amount of hand-to-hand fighting techniques. //What does he have planned? Is he going to betray me here?//  
  
"Of course not! Give Sora some credit!" A high-pitched voice called out. Motoko spun around quickly, fists coming up and ready for action.  
  
But she quickly lowered her guard when she saw her "attacker". A younger version of Sora stepped out of the shadows, pouting cutely. He looked to be about six or seven years old, with a brighter disposition than the Sora Motoko was used to. Even with his eyes narrowed and his arms folded in front of him, nothing appeared menacing or threatening about the child. "You shouldn't talk bad about him, 'cause he's helping you, and mommy says it's 'empolite' to be so mean!"  
  
Motoko looked at the boy with confusion clearly written on her features. //Wha...?//  
  
"He meant 'impolite' in case you're wondering," Another voice called out. Spinning around quickly, Motoko saw another young Sora step out of the shadows. While every bit as youthful as his counter part, this one appeared to be very dangerous and cold. His eyes were lifeless, whereas the other one seemed full of energy. He seemed wholly focused, while the other one seemed very distractible and curious. "Would you quit it?" he snapped at the other Sora. "You're annoying her."  
  
"Am not!" the other one shot back sticking his tongue out.  
  
The serious Sora rolled his eyes, "Well, you're annoying me."  
  
"Meanie!"  
  
"Imbecile..."  
  
//Uh...// "U-Urashima...?" Motoko stammered out, looking in between the twins with bulging eyes. The two kids stopped arguing and looked at her.  
  
"Well, yes and no," the serious one replied. "You see, we are the two facets of Sora's personality."  
  
Cheerful Sora bounced happily in a circle around Motoko, "I'm the part that wants to be happy and have fun-"  
  
"And I'M the part that realizes that's impossible and takes care of my duties," serious Sora cut in, sitting down on the floor.  
  
Cheerful Sora shot a glare at his counterpart before turning to Motoko. "He's just mad, 'cause he's always all alone..."  
  
"Your always here, no matter how many times I tell you to go away!" serious Sora retorted.  
  
Seeing that another argument was imminent, Motoko decided to step in with a question. "So where's the original one?"  
  
"You mean Oniisama?" serious Sora replied. "It's rather difficult to bring two people into the void, and since he hasn't mastered this particular meditation technique he split up into two different pieces."  
  
"Hmm... so what are we going to do?" Motoko asked. "I came here to receive a symbol."  
  
"Don't worry! We'll guide you, right oniichan?" cheerful Sora chirped.  
  
Serious Sora gave him a level gaze. "I told you not to call me that."  
  
"Uh..." Motoko broke in before cheerful Sora could reply. "Can we please get moving?"  
  
"Uh huh! Right this way, Oneechan..." cheerful Sora said dragging Motoko along by the hand.  
  
"She isn't our sister."  
  
"I can call you that, right?"  
  
"S-sure... um, do you think we can skip the arguing?"  
  
============================================================================  
  
The trio was traveling through what appeared to be Kyoto. All around them people were hurrying around, the cars were flying by them, children were playing, friends were chatting near their homes... It was a real, living, breathing city. //This is amazing...// Motoko thought, looking around.  
  
The twins in front of her were arguing again, so she picked up cheerful Sora and carried him on her back. "Look, you two. I don't know why you can't stand each other, but this constant bickering is starting to wear on my nerves. Got it?"  
  
Serious Sora shrugged and nodded, while cheerful Sora apologized profusely. "Okay, now can you explain to me where we are?"  
  
"We are inside of one of Sora's memories," serious Sora replied. "The human mind is quite capable, but most of the information is buried. But when using this type of meditation we can uncover these memories and re- live them, or even show them to other people in vivid detail."  
  
//An advanced meditation technique?// "So, is this one of your clan's secrets?" Motoko asked.  
  
"Not really. A lot of clans know of this technique," serious Sora answered, putting his hands behind his head as he walked. "I believe even your clan knows it, but they probably don't use it often."  
  
"Why not? This seems like it could be quite useful," Motoko asked.  
  
"And it is, to an extent," serious Sora replied. "This is a good technique to KNOW, but not the greatest to USE..."  
  
"Why is that?" Motoko asked again.  
  
"Because you and Sora go sleepy-sleepy!" cheerful Sora supplied.  
  
"My counterpart is quite right," serious Sora said. "Right now, you and Sora are basically defenseless. This technique breaks off all contact with our physical bodies, so you guys are probably up out there drooling on the flat roof."  
  
============================================================================  
  
A shocked Shinobu prods the prone forms of Sora and Motoko warily. They were both sitting on the floor, cross-legged and swaying slightly. She had come up here intent on calling them for breakfast, but it was apparent that neither was in the realm of the living. Naru came up the stairs to find out what the noise was about, gawking at the pair.  
  
"Naru-sempai... are they dead?" Shinobu asked as Sora fell lifelessly to his side.  
  
Naru shrugged and went back down the stairs. "Wouldn't be surprised..."  
  
============================================================================  
  
"Someone could be kicking you to death, and you wouldn't notice until your spiritual body faded," serious Sora explained.  
  
"So that's why most people don't use this method..." Motoko said to herself. "So why are we using it now?"  
  
"You require strength to complete any of the tests and this method provides the most strength to your spiritual body," serious Sora replied. Suddenly the area around them began to change and morph.  
  
"Oh no..." cheerful Sora whispered, clutching Motoko tighter.  
  
"What?" Motoko asked, looking around. "What's happening?"  
  
"Nothing really," serious Sora replied, still walking calmly with his hands behind his head. "Just changing memories. This one happens to be a favorite for Happy over there."  
  
"No... please... no..." cheerful Sora cried, hiding his eyes in Motoko's shoulder.  
  
"Don't be such a wuss," serious Sora spat. "There's no running from your past."  
  
"But I don't want to remember!"  
  
"What exactly is he remembering?" Motoko asked, not quite sure how to soothe the child on her back.  
  
"Watch," serious Sora said.  
  
Looking around her, Motoko could see that she was in the middle of a fierce battle. People lay in the streets, dead or dying as other warriors fought on. Motoko then spotted Sora, a little older than her current companions, fighting with a bokken. Near him was a man, taking on the brunt of the raiders with a sword, and slowly being worn down. Sora finished off another one of his attacker's and turned to the man...  
  
Just in time to see him get stabbed in the stomach...  
  
His eyes widened and he let out a choked cry as he ran to his aid only to be stopped by his murderer.  
  
"...Jeros..." Motoko whispered, astonished at what she just witnessed. //So, Jeros really DID strike down an injured and unarmed man...// she thought, seeing the man's sword on the floor broken.  
  
"So, we meet again, Sora..." he said, smirking evilly at the boy.  
  
Sora's arm trembled as he fought back tears. "You asshole...." He muttered.  
  
"Now is that anyway to greet your elder? I thought your mother would teach you better..." Jeros snickered slightly. "How is she anyway?"  
  
"Shut up!" Sora shouted, the symbol on his hand burning red. "Shut the hell up!"  
  
"Too bad you can't do that demon transformation," Jeros continued, gesturing to the symbol on Sora's hand. "'Evil' huh? Sounds like your mother raised you well..."  
  
"And you're lucky I can't transform yet, you bastard!" Sora shouted, raising his eyes to meet Jeros' gaze. "Because if I could, I would tear you limb from limb."  
  
"Come then, 'Bandit'..." Jeros said, moving into a stance. "I already accomplished my mission, but I think can also kill you and send you back to your traitorous mother."  
  
At this, Sora's body seemed to surge with energy. //Why!?// he thought desperately. //Why can't I transform!?// Then he looked back up, and the hatred filled him again. //FUCK IT!!!//  
  
"I'LL KILL YOU!!!"  
  
============================================================================  
  
Motoko stared blankly as the memory faded. Playful Sora was now sobbing uncontrollably, repeating "otousan" over and over again. Motoko was too stunned to help the boy, her mind unable to form thoughts properly. //That can't be... Jeros... can it...?// she thought. //He... I... never knew...// "This can't be!" she cried.  
  
"But it is," serious Sora replied, unfazed.  
  
Motoko stopped thinking about Jeros for a moment to regard the boy in front of her. "Why doesn't this memory bother you?"  
  
"It does," serious Sora sighed. "But when I really think about it, I'm not that angry at Jeros for what he did."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, think about it: Jeros was only doing his job. Your clan must have ordered the death of my father, and Jeros carried out that assignment. I've done the exact same thing, many times," serious Sora explained.  
  
"But aren't you angry about the death of your father?" Motoko asked, wondering what she should do about the sobbing child on her back.  
  
Serious Sora thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Of course I'm angry, but I also realize that I can't allow raw emotion to control me if I want to survive. I must control my anger and think about survival and my mission. Such is the Way of the Ninja..."  
  
//Jeros...// Motoko thought to herself, moving playful Sora to her front and hugging him in a feeble attempt to calm him. //No, the boy is right. I need to control my emotions and move on...// she thought, hugging the small boy tighter. //I must grow stronger...//  
  
============================================================================  
  
A/N: Jesus. that's finally over with. I'll update again sometime soon. Well, please review and tell me what you think. --Stizzo 


	9. Dark Fire: Spirit

===============================================================  
  
A/N: I'm lazy. I had questioned myself many times before, but this clinches it. I am the laziest bastard on this planet. Sorry for the wait. I'll try to make my next update sooner, but I've found myself doing a lot of other things besides writing lately.  
  
Damn it... I'm rambling again. I guess I just like wasting time or something. But anyway, on to business. Thank you Patron Angel Tabris, OmegaDragon, Xevius, and RyuLong for leaving comments last chapter.  
  
For those of you that had questions:  
  
Patron Angel Tabris - Good to hear from you, amigo. Don't worry about dropping off the face of the Earth (since I seem to do that from time to time as well). All right, about somebody confronting Naru on her attitude towards Keitaro. Minako doesn't really care, and she'll be one of those characters that will come and go as she pleases. Sora doesn't tend to bother with these things, but he might make an exception... And don't worry; Kitsune will be involved into the story. The problem with a fic like this is that Kitsune's normal antics won't really help advance the plot, since I plan on focusing on Sora for the first segment to get him introduced and somewhat explained before I move on. And since Kitsune tends to focus on either: 1) Getting Keitaro and Naru together 2) Getting drunk off her ass 3) Catching one of her roomies in compromising positions 4) Causing general mayhem in the house and somehow finding a way to make a profit out of any of the above; it just works out that none of this really has anything to do with Sora. Oh, and stay cool amigo. I know how frustrating waiting for slow authors like me can be. Besides, your friends and family will get mad at me if you start bouncing off the walls.  
  
With that done, I'd like to say that I don't own Love Hina and never will. Don't sue me for this.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Pride and Honor: Chapter 08 - Dark Fire ~ Spirit  
  
===============================================================  
  
Motoko, along with her companions, the two younger versions of Sora, were still trudging along through Sora's memories. It felt like hours since they had begun, and Motoko could feel her legs starting to wear. This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the constant arguing between the two children.  
  
"So." Motoko said, scooping up playful Sora and putting him on her back in an effort to separate him from his counterpart. "Why is it you two are always arguing? Is this normal or is Sora just special?"  
  
Serious Sora sighed, scratching his head thoughtfully. "Well, think of it like this: you yourself have two different aspects in your psyche. And they are both very radical in their views, so every choice you make will result in an argument between these two."  
  
"So you guys don't agree on ANYTHING?" Motoko asked, unbelieving.  
  
"Nope," playful Sora said, sticking his tongue out at his "brother".  
  
"Well... that would actually explain a lot," Motoko said thoughtfully. //Hm... I wonder what MY two personalities are like?// "So, does Sora visit you often?"  
  
"Oh, yeah! Oniisama is the coolest!" playful Sora declared happily.  
  
Serious Sora's features seemed to brighten a bit at the mention of their original. "Yes, he visits us sometime when he's alone. He helps us train or just chats for a while..."  
  
//Really... This sounds like a good opportunity to gather information about Sora's past...// Motoko thought to herself, eyeing serious Sora. "Hm... did he ever tell you why he selected the symbol of 'Evil'?" Motoko asked, trying to appear unconcerned.  
  
"Grandfather ordered it," serious Sora replied.  
  
"Ordered? Why?" Motoko asked, confused. "It seems like a rather large burden to place on one so young..."  
  
"It's done all the time," serious Sora replied, shrugging. "All Auron ninjas select a symbol when they are young."  
  
"So why did it have to be 'Evil'?" Motoko pried, trying to get the information she wanted.  
  
"Simple: 'Evil' is the strongest symbol. It unlocks the most powerful 'Trance' forms," serious Sora replied easily.  
  
"But what about the side-effects?" Motoko asked. "Keitaro had selected a different symbol and he is quite powerful."  
  
"Very true," serious Sora replied. "But 'Evil' is the strongest. The Auron clan's leader must be strong and fearless," serious Sora replied. "Sora's father and his Uncle Ryo... they were weak. They were afraid of losing their humanity and surrendered the position of 'Successor' to a six year-old..." he said coldly. "Sora became 'Successor' the day he received his symbol, and had to endure the excruciating pain of 'Evil' just because no one else wanted to..."  
  
//So... the leader of the Auron clan must bear the symbol 'Evil', but Sora's father and Uncle refused it?// Motoko thought to herself. "But why would Sora accept?"  
  
"Because Grandfather ordered it," playful Sora replied in an uncharacteristically somber voice.  
  
Motoko shrugged. //Oh well, I guess I don't need to know all that much about Urashima-kun.// she thought, sighing.  
  
===============================================================  
  
"We're here! We're here!" playful Sora bounce excitedly on Motoko's back.  
  
Serious Sora rolled his eyes. They were no longer in the city, but another, seemingly endless void with only a single path to follow. "Believe it or not, my counterpart is almost correct." Serious Sora pointed directly ahead of them. "Continue walking forward and you will be transported into a different area. There you will begin your testing."  
  
Playful Sora separated his self from Motoko and smiled brightly at her. "Good luck, oneechan!"  
  
Serious Sora bowed politely to her, "Yes, good luck."  
  
Motoko arched an eyebrow. "You aren't coming?"  
  
"We'll be right here, so scream if you need us," serious Sora replied, sitting down on the floor.  
  
"Yeah, don't worry, oneechan," playful Sora said, mimicking his counterparts actions. "The two of us combined will be just as powerful as oniisama, so we'll help you if you need anything."  
  
Motoko bowed to the pair. "Very well, then," she said. "Thank you very much for guiding me." Then Motoko turned toward the darkness.  
  
//This seems like a bad omen...// she thought as she began to walk. //Forget it, I should be thinking about a symbol, not worrying over nothing!//  
  
"So, are you the one that will be tested?" an ominous voice called out. A white flame appeared in front of her, hovering at just about eye level. Motoko stepped back, startled. The voice chuckled, it voice very deep and masculine. "Fear not, child, I am the white flame of Justice," it said reassuringly. "Now if the black flame of Evil appears..."  
  
"Watch it," another voice said testily. This one was feminine and pleasant sounding, but it was obvious that the spirit was angry. "Tell me, can someone as beautiful as me possibly be Evil?" the voice said as a black flame appeared behind Motoko.  
  
Motoko tried her hardest to hide her amusement as she replied, "No, you look very lovely."  
  
"Hey, what does she have that I don't?" another voice said as a red flame appeared. "The red flame of Soul is the most beautiful sight in the world."  
  
"We are not in the world, actually." a purple flame said, appearing to her left. This voice was masculine in nature, and sounded rather bored at the moment.  
  
"Can it, purple flame of the Mind," soul snapped.  
  
"I believe that we are scaring our visitor," another voice called out. It was a feminine voice that belonged to a blue flame. "Greetings, young one. I am the blue flame of Spirit."  
  
Another flame appeared, this one masculine. "The yellow flame of Body."  
  
"Well, I believe that's everyone," Justice said. Motoko sweatdropped.  
  
"Um, I was always under the impressions that spirits of the Fire were... well..." Motoko trailed off, shaking her head.  
  
"More serious?" Evil asked. "Do not worry, girl, we'll get plenty harsh when it comes time for your trials. For now we are merely greeting each other."  
  
Motoko looked around a moment before bowing respectfully. "I am Aoyama Motoko of the God's Cry school..."  
  
Justice started a moment. "The God's Cry, you say? We haven't seen someone from that school since..." the white flame trailed off. "Never mind that. Let us begin with your testing. Have you selected a symbol yet?"  
  
Motoko shook her head. The black flame let out an impatient sigh. "Well, now is as good a time as any. Hurry it up."  
  
Motoko sweat-dropped again as she looked over the symbols. She remembered Keitaro telling her that the tests for Justice and Evil were very brutal and shouldn't be attempted if she could avoid it, so she glossed over those two. Motoko also didn't want to become a crazed demon whenever she fought so Body and Soul were crossed off her mental list as well. //So, either the Mind or Spirit.//  
  
"Hurry up..." Evil prodded.  
  
Motoko snapped out of her train of the thought. "Very well, I choose the Blue Flame of Spirit."  
  
The blue flame moved in front of Motoko. "Very well, then. Open your mind to me..."  
  
The world around Aoyama Motoko faded and distorted once again.  
  
===============================================================  
  
"Um... do you think we should have let Oneechan go off by herself?" playful Sora said bouncing around impatiently.  
  
"Not really," serious Sora replied, shrugging. "But what are you suggesting we do? She must complete her test on her own. We're only here to pull her out if she fails."  
  
"But aren't we too far away?" playful Sora said frowning slightly.  
  
Serious Sora's eyes widened slightly. Without another word, the two children walked across the bridge.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Aoyama Motoko opened her eyes lazily and found herself sitting on the flat roof across from an unconscious Sora. //Huh? What's happening?// Motoko stood up and brushed herself off. "So, Urashima-kun, am I done?"  
  
Sora didn't reply, falling over to his side. Motoko walked over and nudged him with her foot, but there was no response. Shrugging, she strode off to prepare herself for school. When she reached the top of the stairs, however, she nearly collided with Keitaro. Normally when Motoko was near him she was unable to sense any strength, even less than most people. But at this very moment, Keitaro's power level was jumping around crazily, soaring way high before diminishing to nothing and back again.  
  
//Amazing...// Motoko thought. //Keitaro's power level is a lot higher than I would've expected... but what the hell is wrong with him?// "Hey, Urashima..." Motoko began.  
  
Keitaro raised his face slightly, but didn't reply. Motoko gasped when she saw Keitaro's eyes glowing yellow, with a cold and empty look to them. Her question forgotten, Motoko stood aside, her hand going to her sword.  
  
Without a word, Keitaro continued up the stairs and walk over to where Sora was lying unconscious on the floor. He then nudged the boy roughly with his foot, drawing a tired groan from the boy.  
  
Sora sat up slowly, blinking a few times to clear his vision. Then he too began to experience the same surges of power in his system. His expression darkened and his eyes began glowing red. Keitaro then sat next to his son as the both stared off into the distance somewhere.  
  
Motoko watched all this with a confused look on her face. This was certainly not very normal behavior coming from either of them, and it could be dangerous considering their fighting strength. //Whatever. I can't do anything here... This will require a bit of reading.//  
  
Hurrying up to her room, Motoko slid the door open and selected a book from her shelf. She opened up the first page, but started when she noticed there was nothing but jumbled words and nonsense on the page. Thumbing through the book quickly she confirmed that all of the pages were unreadable. Motoko pulled off another book, then another, and another. They were all completely useless.  
  
Motoko threw the book to the floor angrily. //I thought something was strange when I left the meditation and not being able to read my books confirms it...//  
  
"Yes, Momo-chan," a voice called out behind her. Motoko turned her head slightly to see Sora in his Majin form drop down from the ceiling. "This is your test of the Spirit."  
  
===============================================================  
  
*In the Void*  
  
Both Soras watched helplessly as Motoko floated high in the air. Playful stepped forward slightly as he saw Motoko wince, but Serious Sora held him back.  
  
"She is okay. But, you know what we must do if that changes..." Serious Sora said nodding towards the blue flame.  
  
Playful Sora only looked back at Motoko.  
  
"Be careful, Oneechan..."  
  
===============================================================  
  
A/N: Okay, I'm done. The next chapter won't take this long, I promise. Anyways I won't bore you. Till next time. 


	10. Dark Fire: Triumph

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A/N : Okay, I'm pretty sure 5 months off on this fic is enough of a break (even for me). I actually had to re-read the fic and hunt for my old notes so I could remember what I was planning on doing with this fic. So now I'm back on track and I'm going to be updating again (yay !)  
  
Thanks go to Xevius, jennyjennai, Jonathan Shim, none, bonehead25, Brian: Warrior of Time, ???, Jonathan Shim, bonehead25, bonehead25... wait a minute...  
  
Anyways, since Shim has been wondering, I've changed my AIM handle to stizzo135. If you want to chat with me for some reason, feel free to.  
  
On to business. I don't own Love Hina and am just writing a fanfic that isn't earning me any money. Don't sue me for this or you'll likely only get 30 cents and a pack of gum from the deal.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Motoko watched the boy warily, and recieved an icy stare in return. Abruptly, Sora was gone from where he was standing, and Motoko's hand flew to her sword hilt. She braced herself, on the brink of drawing.   
  
Listening closely, she thought she could here the boy's rapid footsteps, but he was moving too fast and the sound seemed to come from all sides at once. Giving in, Motoko attempted to track the boy with her eyes, but all she saw was a blur that was moving faster than she could turn. //Well, this is useless…// she thought wryly.  
  
Sora struck, using his fists since he lacked a weapon. Motoko brought her free hand up to guard her body and stumbled backwards as a flurry of hands and feet lashed out at her. Giving ground, she struck with her sword blindly. Sora effortlessly evaded it, but had to stop his attacks to do so.  
  
Before he could continue, Motoko crashed through her window, driving her sword into the side of the Hinata House to slow her fall. Sora leapt out the window as well, running down the side of the building in pursuit. Motoko pulled her blade free and kicked herself away from the wall, then spun her body and hit the floor rolling. She sprang to her feet just as Sora landed not far from her.  
  
"Well, well... You just keep getting stronger... " Sora said, stretching out. "I only could've killed you 7 times during that entire exchange. I'm getting sloppy."  
  
Motoko bit her tongue, to keep from accusing the boy of lying. "That transformation is quite amazing, Urashima-kun. But why don't you try fighting me without it?"  
  
Sora scoffed. "You want me to play the samurai fool? Think of a new way to gain the advantage..."  
  
"Damn," Motoko replied, shrugging. "It's just that this tranformation grants you so much speed..."  
  
"Not that'd you'd be able to keep up with me even if I did drop this Trance," Sora grinned slightly. "Speed is my strong point..." The grin slid off his face as soon as the words were out of his mouth, and his face paled.  
  
Motoko smiled slightly, though it wasn't a very warm one. Quite the opposite. "So, speed is your strong point?" //Meaning strength is probably your weak point.// Motoko thought. "That makes sense."  
  
Sora merely set himself back into his stance. Closing the gap in between them, Motoko grabbed for Sora's arm with her free hand. Sora spun away, kicking at her face. Pulling her blade partly out of the sheath, Motoko blocked the strike with the flat of her blade. Seizing his leg at the knee, Motoko easily grabbed Sora's opposite arm. Sora struggled vainly to break loose, but Motoko held tight and wrestled the boy to the floor.   
  
Pinning the boy down, Motoko drew her sword and held it against the back of his neck. "Surrender," Motoko said plainly, adding more pressure to the blade. After a bit of struggling, Sora relaxed, his hair turning back to it's natural color. Sighing, Motoko stood and tried to stretch out a few sore spots and check her injuries.  
  
Sora sat up on the floor. "I can't believe I lost..." he said, shaking his head.  
  
"You let your guard down," Motoko replied, sheathing her sword after checking it. "So, is that all? Do I pass?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm just a tool of this test. I didn't make it," Sora replied, still a little miffed about losing. He stood and brushed himself off. "Though if something else were going to happen, it would probably be right about..." A large explosion bursts through the wall of the Hinata-sou, knocking Sora and Motoko off their feet. "...now." Sora finshed wryly as he picked himself off the floor again.   
  
Motoko groaned as she forced herself to her feet. She was used to explosions and the such around the Hinata, but in this test, it could only mean bad news. "What now?" she said, irritably.  
  
Keitaro emerged from the smoking wreckage carrying a long sword at his hip. Even through the smog, Motoko could see his eyes glowing yellow and his face was grim. Sora looked to the tall girl. "Want some help?"  
  
Motoko shook her head. "This is my test. I'll handle it."  
  
"I don't think that's what's important here. I'm here to get you out alive," Sora replied.  
  
"Weren't you just trying to kill me?" Motoko pointed out rolling her eyes. Sometimes she just didn't understand this boy.  
  
"I wasn't actually going to kill you. Not to take anything away from your victory, but I could have killed you in the beggining if I wanted to. I was only trying to wear you out and make you quit," Sora explained. "But anyway, I have no clue what that guy might do in this state."  
  
Motoko looked at Keitaro closely. She had to admit that she had no clue what he would do either, except that she probably wouldn't like it. "Stand down, Urashima-kun. I will handle this."  
  
Sora shrugged and sat back down on the floor. "I'll be here if you need me," he said.  
  
Motoko turned towards Keitaro... and was surprised to see him right in front of her and slashing his blade directly for her throat. Motoko leaped backwards, narrowly dodging the attack, and pulled her blade free. Keitaro caught her blade in his hand and neatly broke it. Motoko gasped, her eyes going to her broken sword. When she looked back up, Keitaro looked to be readying a very familiar technique. But no... It couldn't be...  
  
"Boulder-cutting Strike!"  
  
Motoko could feel the move cut into her, could feel the blood spurting, but she still wasn't sure what happened.  
  
===============================================================  
  
Motoko ran hard, panting hoarsely. No--no time to rest. She need to get away, or it would kill her...  
  
Suddenly something burst through the trees and knock her small body over. Wait a minute...  
  
//This isn't right...// Motoko realized looking at her body. This was all past! It was done!   
  
//...don't make me remember...//  
  
The monster reared it's head, looming over the shaking girl. The giant turtle monster.  
  
//Leave me alone!//  
  
Motoko set her feet to strike, but the demon surged forward, knocking the girl away.  
  
//Stop! I've been through this already! STOP IT, NOW!!//  
  
Motoko rolled along the ground, desperately trying to stop herself. Using her bokken as an anchor she skidded to a halt.  
  
//I don't know what you are driving at! What's the point of this!?//  
  
Motoko knealt on the floor, panting and leaning against her bokken. Her body shook with the effort of staying upright. Gotta get up... Gotta keep running!  
  
//Why?//  
  
Motoko pushed herself to her feet and began a lumbering run. The turtle demon caught up easily, striking the small girl yet again. Motoko let out a yelp as she hit the floor. She turned around and began crawling away. Tears glittered in her eyes as she looked up at the monster.  
  
//...why...?//   
  
Just then, a wave of energy came in and annihilated the turtle demon. The last thing Motoko saw before blacking out were her parents worried faces.  
  
//...I'm sorry. I'll be stronger...//  
  
===============================================================  
  
Motoko sat in her room, looking out the window. Today, SHE was getting married. So now Motoko was the heir of the God's Cry school. SHE was going to turn her back on everything for that MAN.  
  
"Motoko-chan! Don't you at least want to say good-bye!"  
  
Motoko scoffed. Let HER leave. She didn't really care that Motoko would have to run the school now. That Motoko would have to find a way to match HER ability. HER legacy. SHE was only the best fighter the God's Cry has ever seen!  
  
//I couldn't do it...//  
  
Well, if SHE could leave, then what stops Motoko from leaving? Nothing! Motoko began packing.  
  
//I just couldn't do it...//  
  
Motoko gave the school one last look. Then she pulled the brim of her hat down and departed. She didn't even notice the tears streaming down her face.  
  
//I wasn't strong enough... I'm sorry... I'll become stronger...//  
  
===============================================================  
  
Motoko's eyes opened slowly. Wherever she was now, it was pitch black. She gave a start when she looked down. She had no form!  
  
"Well, well... you came to take the test of Spirit, but yours is rather pathetic."  
  
Motoko looked around and saw the Blue flame whirling about. It's glow didn't strecth far into the darkness, but it hurt to look directly at it. Her mood plumetted as her process it's words. //I've failed...//  
  
"You run away whenever things start to look slightly bad. You run from enemies..."  
  
//Shut up...//  
  
"...you run away from your duties..."  
  
//You don't know what it's like...//  
  
"...you even run from your friends."  
  
//You don't know anything...//  
  
"I bet you're ready to quit right now."  
  
Something inside Motoko snapped.  
  
"NEVER! I've come to far to quit now!"  
  
"Hmph. Liar," the flame replied.  
  
Motoko narrowed her eyes. Well, she would have narrowed them if she had any. "You are right. I've been running from all of my problem for too long now. But this is where it ends!"  
  
//I'll be stronger!//  
  
"I WILL pass this test!"  
  
//No more running!//  
  
"I WILL become the most powerful warrior the God's Cry has ever seen!"  
  
//Just watch me, everyone!//  
  
"In fact, I will become the most powerful warrior ever!"  
  
For a while, the flame merely hovered in the air, considering the girl in front of her. Finally, it conceded. "Fine. Time to back up those big words of yours."   
  
================================================================================  
  
Sora spun away from Keitaro's wild slash, sweeping out his legs with a kick. Doing a high back flip, he created space from the berserk man. Sparing a glance at Motoko's downed body, Sora felt a surge of dread. //Well, looks like I'm doing a lousy job of protecting her... At least she's still alive. She hasn't faded yet.//  
  
Sora nearly tripped when he saw Motoko stir. Groaning audibly, the girl rose from the floor with a new sword at her hip. Looking at the fight, she merely nodded to herself.  
  
"Thank you very much, Urashima-kun, for covering me while I was incapacitated," Motoko said. "Now move. I have a test to pass."  
  
Sora merely nodded and let himself relax. Motoko stood in a relaxed stance watching her opponent. Keitaro stood pretty much the same way, smirking slightly. Sora wisely sweatdropped and moved a bit further from the two fighters.  
  
"So, you come back for more?" Keitaro said. "Your funeral."  
  
"No, I believe you are the one who will be going to oblivion," Motoko replied. "In fact, I believe I can manage this in one attack."  
  
Keitaro's eyes narrowed menacingly. "Hmph. Come then," he said, readying himself for battle.  
  
Motoko laid a hand on her hilt, the other hand holding the sheath. Covering her sword arm with her sleeve, she waited. Keitaro smirked, seeing exactly what she was trying.  
  
"Those are all one-shot techniques from that stance. What if you aren't fast enough?" He chuckled.  
  
"I will be. Come."  
  
Keitaro ran straight for the girl, moving quickly, but very carefully. When he was in range, he saw Motoko twist slightly as if to draw her sword. As he got ready to dodge, Motoko made her move.  
  
Rolling to her left, Motoko caught Keitaro right in the middle of his dodge. Eyes widening, Keitaro tried to avoid her strike but it was too late. Setting herself on one knee, Motoko finally let attacked, her blade singing from her sheath. She closed her eyes, but she could feel the blade hit at Keitaro's waist. And slice her opponent in half.  
  
Keeping her eyes closed, Motoko turned away. //It's not real. I didn't really kill him. I didn't. This is just like a dream. A really vivid dream, but a dream nonetheless...// she thought as she busied herself with wiping her blade clean.  
  
Sora whistled tonelessly. "Otousan is tough..." he said, looking over the corpse and shaking his head. "But not tough enough to shrug that off, I guess."  
  
Motoko looked up at the boy, anger burning in her eyes. "What the hell is your problem!? How could you say something like that after watching..." she pointed to the corpse, still not looking at it. "...that!?"  
  
"It's not real. In fact, the only reason he's here is because it's a person you happen to know that has some fighting ability. Be happy you didn't end up facing your parents, or some foolishness," Sora shrugged. "Come on, don't worry about it. You haven't done anything wrong. Besides, you've passed your test."  
  
Motoko looked around her and saw that the area was, in fact, fading. Looking back at the boy, she suddenly felt very tired. "Well, I don't have to like it..." she yawned. "You hear me? I'm not going to become a demon like you..." Motoko slurred as she passed out and faded from the area.  
  
"What, is that a compliment?" Sora replied sarcastically. Shaking his head, he stepped out of the meditation as well.  
  
================================================================================  
  
A/N: See, I'm still alive. Barely, but that will have to do. 'Till next time.  
  
--Stizzo Out 


End file.
